One Dead After Stolen Ambulance Crashes Into 10 Vehicles: Police

UPDATED at 4 p.m.

An alleged carjacker from Silver Spring is in critical condition with injuries suffered after he reportedly stole an ambulance and eventually crashed it into 10 vehicles, killing one person.

The Branchville Volunteer Fire Department ambulance was stolen at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday after its crew stopped to check on a driver who had pulled off I-495, reports NBC Washington. Prince George’s County Police have identified the suspect, now under arrest, as Sebastian Isaksen, 34, of the 2800 block of Beechbank Drive in Silver Spring.

According to the preliminary investigation, Isaksen was involved in a separate accident on the Capital Beltway. A Branchville Volunteer Fire Department ambulance crew in the area saw the accident and stopped to help. Isaksen allegedly assaulted the crew after they stopped, and then jumped into the ambulance and drove away, police say.

“The volunteer firefighter/EMTs were visibly shaken but not injured,” said Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George’s Fire Department, in a blog post.

The stolen ambulance then went south on Route 495 and before exiting onto Kenilworth Avenue and then west on Greenbelt Road. Two blocks down Greenbelt Road and about 15 minutes after this incident started the stolen unit caused a multi-vehicle crash, Brady says.

As the ambulance encountered slow-moving traffic in the 6200 block of Greenbelt Road it struck three vehicles.

The driver of a Mercedes, the first car struck in the initial multi-car collision, died of his injuries at a local hospital. He was been identified as Alvin Hargrave, 77, of Lakecrest Drive in Greenbelt.

A 36-year-old pregnant woman, who was a passenger in the Mercedes, was taken to a hospital where she remains in stable condition.

After crashing into the vehicles on Greenbelt Road, the ambulance careened down an embankment, rolling onto its side while striking at least seven unoccupied vehicles in the parking lot of a Joe’s Crab Shack restaurant.

The injured Isaksen was caught by police officers as he tried to get out of the ambulance and taken, under arrest, to a local hospital where police describe his injuries as serious.

A total of 11 vehicles were involved in the crashes, including the ambulance. Three people were treated or checked at the scene and did not go to the hospital, Brady says.

Detectives have charged Isaksen with carjacking, assault, and charges related to the carjacking. Police will with the Office of the State’s Attorney to determine appropriate charges surrounding the fatal collision.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), text “PGPD plus your message” to CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.com and submit a tip online.

The Branchville Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Squad in College Park owns the ambulance. Branchville is one of nine all-volunteer stations out of 45 stations that operate within the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department.

Brady says the ambulance appears to be a total loss; a replacement unit will cost about $250,000. Branchville owns a second ambulance and has access to a county reserve ambulance if needed.

»A suspect stole and crashed a Branchville ambulance, killing one person and injuring several. PHOTO from the Prince George’s County Fire Department/Mark Brady Photo of Sebastian Isaksen, 34, of the 2800 block of Beechbank Drive in Silver Spring from PGCPD