Authorities say the incident began around 2:40 a.m. when the suspect allegedly stole a Honda Civic that had been left running and unattended near Regent Place and Flatbush Avenue. The man then sped south on Flatbush Avenue before losing control near Avenue J. The vehicle jumped the curb and slammed into a building, splitting the car in half from the force of the impact.
When a battalion chief arrived at the scene to investigate the crash, they were involved in another collision at the same intersection. The first collision occurred at 9:06 a.m. in Reseda, when a Fire Department rescue ambulance transporting a patient from an earlier accident collided with a light gray sedan on Vanowen Street and Lindley Avenue, a spokesperson for the department said.