COLUMBUS As first reported
by The Banner Press Newspaper in the March 20 edition, this follow-up article includes a press release by the Colorado County EMS Chief Michael Furrh. Furrh issued a press release addressing the stolen ambulance and subsequent chase in and around Columbus.
The report stated, a female, later identified as Idara Ukpanah, reported herself as being abducted out of Austin and locked in a trunk was found safe on Highway 90 near Borden on March 18.
As standard procedure, she was checked out by Colorado County EMS on the scene and then transported to the Columbus Community Hospital for further evaluation.
At this point, she was able to slip out of the ER, stole the ambulance and sent local law enforcement on a dangerous pursuit down Hwy 71 South and onto County Road 101. To prevent her from coming back onto Highway 71 and poten- tially causing significant injury to inno cent people traveling on Highway 71 and because of her blatant disregard for safety, law enforcement disabled the ambulance by deploying spike strips. The ambulance left the roadway and crashed through a fence and into the woods. Law enforcement quickly took her into custody.
Furrh stated that a Colorado County Ambulance was stolen on March 18 from Columbus Community Hospital early that morning by a mental health patient, leading law enforcement on a 20-minute pursuit before crashing on County Road 101 near Highway 71. The incident began when EMS personnel delivered a patient to CCH from a call outside of Borden off Highway 90. EMS was called to assist law enforcement for a subject who stated she was kidnapped by two males and was left in the trunk of a car parked on the side of the highway. Deputies arrived on the scene and requested EMS.
EMS transported the patient to CCH and transferred care to the staff. It was at this time that the patient exited her room and walked out of the facility. About the time CCH staff as well as EMS staff realized she was exiting the building, the subject gained access to the 2019 Dodge ambulance in the ER bay and departed the hospital, prompting immediate response from Columbus Police Department, Colorado County Sheriff’s Department and Texas DPS.
Law enforcement pursued the stolen ambulance for approximately 20-25 minutes before the subject lost control and crashed on County Road 101, after spike strips were deployed to deflate the tires.
EMS again, responded to the scene to evaluate and assess the patient, who was now swiftly taken into custody by our law enforcement partners, and transported to Columbus Community Hospital for evaluation. No EMS personnel or members of the public were injured during the in- cident. The ambulance sustained signifi cant damage, and the extent of repairs is currently being assessed. Private property owners will be contacted to assess the damage as well.
Furrh said, "This is a VERY unfor tunate situation, but we are grateful no one was seriously hurt or injured. We can no longer take for granted the sanctity of our rural communities. Today it proves that even our county Emergency Medical Services can and are vulnerable to out- side influences. We greatly appreciate the quick response from our law enforcement partners in safely resolving the matter.’”
