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A Maryland man, Darell T. Caldwell, has been arrested after committing over a dozen hit-and-run crashes in a stolen ambulance and a stolen truck on major highways in northern Virginia. The crashes occurred on Interstate 66, I-395, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway, with no serious injuries reported. Caldwell was charged by federal and local law enforcement, while state police charges are still pending. The string of accidents began when Caldwell crashed a stolen truck on I-66 and fled the scene on foot. He later stole an ambulance and was apprehended in Washington after hitting a parked car. Associated Press reported
In Arlington, Virginia, a series of hit-and-run incidents occurred over the weekend involving a stolen ambulance and a stolen truck. The suspect, identified as Darell T. Caldwell, a 30-year-old man from Brandywine, Maryland, was finally apprehended in the District of Columbia. Fortunately, there were no reports of serious injuries resulting from the crashes on Interstate 66, I-395, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Both federal and local law enforcement have charged Caldwell, with pending charges from the state police as well. At the time of his arrest, he was undergoing evaluation at a hospital. The chain of accidents began when state police responded to a two-vehicle collision on eastbound I-66, where Caldwell was identified as the driver of a stolen truck. After fleeing the scene, he caused another multi-vehicle crash on northbound I-395, resulting in five individuals being hospitalized.
Following this incident, Caldwell abandoned the truck and caused yet another crash on the Parkway while driving a different stolen truck in the wrong direction. It remains unclear how he obtained the second stolen vehicle. Taking advantage of the chaos, Caldwell seized an Arlington County ambulance that had stopped at the Parkway accident site. The ambulance was responding to the previous I-395 crash.
A trooper, alerted to the stolen ambulance, initiated a pursuit and eventually caught up to the vehicle. However, as the trooper exited his patrol car, the stolen ambulance rammed into it. Both state and Arlington county police joined the pursuit, which finally ended when the stolen ambulance collided with a parked car after entering Washington. Caldwell was apprehended without resistance.
One of the victims, Hailey Ruggiero, shared her experience of being rear-ended by the stolen ambulance near Reagan National Airport. She expressed gratitude for her survival but hoped that justice would be served for all those affected by these incidents..
