RUSHVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — An ambulance from Beardstown was involved in a Schuyler County police chase last week when a hospital patient jumped into it and drove off with police in pursuit. That patient is now facing multiple charges that include attempted murder.

Bill Redshaw, the Schuyler County Sheriff, said the ambulance was taking a patient to Culbertson Hospital in Rushville on Jan. 9. Due to the cold weather, the EMTs left the vehicle idling in the ambulance bay while they took their patient inside. As they did, another patient ran out of the building.

That patient was James Bowman of Ripley, Redshaw said. He had been taken to the hospital by an out-of-county ambulance service and while he was there, he allegedly became “irate about things” and was “tired of being there.” Redshaw said Bowman assaulted a hospital staff member and then ran to the ambulance bay.

Bowman allegedly saw the Beardstown ambulance, got in and drove off. Law enforcement was quickly notified, Redshaw said, and when officers found the ambulance, Bowman allegedly refused to stop.

The chase went through downtown Rushville and eventually left town on Adams St. Redshaw said that at one point, Bowman drove the ambulance down a dead-end road, turned it around and started driving back toward police cars. He actually clipped the car of Rushville Police Chief Rick Wright before heading back toward Rushville on Adams.

The chase ended on Adams near Orchard Lake Drive. Redshaw said that here, Bowman drove into a yard and toward an innocent man who happened to be there; the man was able to dive out of the way. As the ambulance was leaving the yard, it crashed into a ditch.

Redshaw said Bowman was arrested and taken back to Culbertson Hospital. He was later transported to a Springfield hospital under sedation for unknown causes, where he remains under 24-hour guard.

Chief Wright was also taken to Culbertson after the ambulance clipped his car; he was later released.

Bowman is facing numerous charges for the chase, including:

• 1 count of attempted murder
• 1 count of leaving the scene of an accident
• 4 counts of reckless driving
  • 1 of those counts is for reckless driving in a school zone
• 1 count of aggravated fleeing and eluding
• 1 count of theft of government property
• 8 counts of disobeying a stop sign

Redshaw added that more counts and charges could be filed against Bowman at a later date.