ST. LOUIS — A St. Charles County man was charged Tuesday with stealing an ambulance then using it to flee from St. Louis police.
Dwane Vardiman, 48, of O'Fallon, Mo., faces three felony charges: resisting arrest creating a substantial risk of serious injury, tampering with a motor vehicle and armed criminal action.
He is accused of stealing the EMS unit from Crystal City, just east of Festus in Jefferson County.
Police say Vardiman then drove the ambulance to St. Louis around 9:30 a.m. Monday, when officers spotted it at South Jefferson and Chouteau avenues.
Officers turned on their sirens and lights but the ambulance drove away, police said, intentionally striking a St. Louis police Tahoe in the process.
Officers said they then chased the ambulance throughout District 3, which includes neighborhoods such as Lafayette Square, Benton Park and Tower Grove East.
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The ambulance crashed into a car in the 4500 block of South Broadway, but when officers got out of their car, the driver reversed the ambulance into another police vehicle and drove off again.
The Missouri Highway Patrol vehicle later set up spike strips, and St. Louis police arrested Vardiman at South Broadway and East Schirmer Street after shocking him with a Taser, according to the department.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.
Circuit Court Judge David Roither denied Vardiman bail Tuesday.