By Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
GREEN COUNTY, Wis. — A Barry County man was arrested Sunday in Wisconsin after allegedly stealing an ambulance and leading police on a car chase, officials said.
The Green County, Wis., Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that it arrested Shannon Szukala, 43, of Middleville, and is seeking charges of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
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Authorities said deputies were called at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday to conduct a welfare check on a person sitting on the side of the roadway of State Highway 11 west of County Highway KK in Monroe, Wis .
Deputies spoke to the person, who had been contacted by their colleagues earlier in the day, officials said. The man, identified as Szukala, told deputies he was injured and asked them to call an ambulance, they said.
As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Szukala walked away from the deputies, according to police.
Medics arrived at about 3 a.m. and spoke to Szukala, they said. But the man ran away from them, got into the ambulance’s driver’s seat, and sped away, heading east on State Hwy 11, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies entered their vehicles and gave chase, officials said. They pursued the ambulance, which was traveling at about 55 mph, for 11.5 miles toward the city of Brodhead, investigators said.
Brodhead Police assisted deputies and deployed devices on the road near Mt. Hope Road in Spring Grove to deflate the ambulance’s tires, according to authorities.
The devices were effective, but the suspect continued driving, first turning east onto State Hwy 81 and then onto Clarence Lane, police said.
After the ambulance became disabled, the driver began to travel off the roadway, deputies said.
The suspect stopped the ambulance, got out, and was met by police, they said. They ordered him to surrender, but he refused and ran through a home’s yard before deputies subdued him with an electric stun gun, officials said.
Police arrested Szukala and took him to a hospital to be examined before transporting him to the county jail, they said.
Investigators said the ambulance sustained some damage and was towed.
“Deputies performed very well, and I commend them for bringing the incident to an end with no further risk to public safety,” Green County Sheriff Cody Kanable said in a statement.
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