13-Year-Old Crashes Ambulance Into Motorcycle: Video

COVENTRY, RI — Police and fire departments are evaluating safety protocols after a teenager with ADHD and autism crashed an ambulance he took from a Coventry fire station.

Police had been been called to help the boy's mother after her 13-year-old son got out of her car and started walking on Route 117. The boy, "excited and unsettled," eventually let officers take him to a nearby fire station for evaluation, police said.

Once they arrived at Central Coventry Fire Station #7, the boy ran into the garage bay, entered a parked ambulance and started driving it away. Police said firefighter Scott Brown was trying to climb into the ambulance as it took off, but he was thrown from it and landed in the road.

The ambulance struck a parked police SUV, which was unoccupied. It then went across Route 117, crashing into a motorcycle traveling eastbound.

The boy, Brown, and the motorcycle operator were taken to the hospital. The motorcycle operator suffered a broken finger, and the other two had minor injuries.

In a statement on Facebook, Coventry Police said:

"We jointly commend FF (Fire Fighter) Scott Brown who risked his life to attempt to stop the ambulance, and despite being thrown from the vehicle sustaining injuries himself, he can be observed in surveillance video crawling to and subsequently rendering aid to the motorcycle operator. The Coventry Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team responded to investigate the scene. The internal surveillance footage from the fire station and footage from a helmet-mounted camera from the motorcycle operator were secured for the investigation and are made available in this release. For all the first responders involved in this incident, it brings into acute focus the challenges that parents, caregivers, and children experience when dealing with autism and other disabilities. It also reminds us of the difficulties our officers and firefighters face when assessing and treating individuals who suffer from mental health disorders. We are grateful that this incident did not result in serious injuries or loss of life. Our thoughts today are with the mother and family of this juvenile who we are struggling with the aftermath of this incident. We commend the dedication and resiliency it requires of parents that wake daily to meet the challenges presented in caring for a child or adult with Autism."

Videos via Coventry Police Department