A man escaped from the emergency room at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Ore., Monday morning and stole three vehicles while evading police, according to a KVAL report.
Emergency dispatchers in Deschutes County, Ore., received information Monday morning that a man was running around a nearby shopping center claiming he was stabbed. He had sustained a non-life threatening leg injury.
The man, identified as 30-year-old Christopher Van Wambeke Ward, admitted the leg injury was self-inflicted. He was transported to the St. Charles-Bend ER.
Bend Police were present at the ER, at which point Mr. Ward exited the emergency department, went under a fence and got into a van. Mr. Ward stole the van and drove through a temporary fence in the hospital's parking lot, causing damage to several vehicles owned by St. Charles-Bend staff.
While police set up a perimeter, Mr. Ward parked the stolen van and attempted to steal a second vehicle, but was unsuccessful. After entering a third vehicle, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police made contact with Mr. Ward. He was taken into custody without incident.
Mr. Ward was taken back to St. Charles-Bend for clearance, as he sustained additional non-life threatening injuries during the pursuit.
Mr. Ward was taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he is being held on two counts of attempt to elude in a vehicle, attempted assault on a public safety officer, two counts of reckless driving, criminal mischief, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, failure to perform the duties of a driver and criminal trespass II.