Patient bites ambulance driver en route to Eastern State Hospital | Crime

(Updated 1:17 p.m.) - Clarkston Fire paramedics were transporting a patient from Tri-State Memorial Hospital to Eastern State Hospital early Sunday morning around 12:30 a.m. when the patient became agitated and assaulted the ambulance driver about 11 miles north of Colfax.

The responders were unable to calm the patient, identified as Jason M. Hundrup, 41. He broke free from his restraints pushed his way into the cabin and tried to grab the steering wheel. He then bit the driver’s hand, specifically the ring finger. The driver stopped the vehicle so the other responder could open the ambulance's passenger door and pull Hundrup off of the driver.

Hundrup immediately ran away to a nearby farmhouse on Klaveano Road where he allegedly threw a rock through a window and fled into a nearby field. Regional law enforcement agents from Colfax Police, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol were called to respond to the area where they found Hundrup shortly after, hiding under a bridge near Klaveano and Ragon Road.

Deputies used a TASER to take Hundrup into custody. He was booked into Whitman County Jail for 3rd Degree Assault and two counts of Malicious Mischief.

The driver of the ambulance was transported to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. The chief of Clarkston Fire, Steve Cooper, says the driver of the ambulance will be okay, but there will be some follow up treatment.

Cooper added that in his 35-years of experience, he’s never seen anything like this and appreciates the response of law enforcement.