A man being transferred between hospitals has been killed after escaping from an ambulance that was transporting him on Interstate 5 near Cardiff on Saturday.
At around 6:35 p.m. a 23-year-old man from Oceanside was being transported from Tri Medical Center to the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center in La Jolla in an ambulance on southbound I-5 near Birmingham Drive, California Highway Patrol officer Mark Latulippe said.
For unknown reasons, he took off his restraints and headed toward the rear door of the ambulance. An attendant tried to stop him but was unable to prevent him from opening the door and jumping out, Latulippe said.
The man leaped out of the moving ambulance as it traveled in the third lane of southbound I-5 and then ran in an easterly direction toward the center divider.
The ambulance stopped and the attendees exited the vehicle to look for the man who had already crossed the center divider and made his way over the median wall, Latulippe said.
He then attempted to cross the I-5 northbound lanes and ran toward the center divider to the first lane when a silver BMW SUV fatally struck him, Latulippe said.
The 23-year-old sustained fatal injuries, Latulippe said.
California
The driver of the BMW sustained minor injuries and was transported to Scripps Encinitas, Latulippe said.
Three lanes of traffic were closed during the investigation and were reopened around 9 p.m.
The investigation is ongoing.
