A Schenectady man is accused of stealing and crashing an ambulance.

Schoharie EMS were at a diabetic emergency in Cobleskill around 10:15 Saturday evening.

As the patient was being loaded into the ambulance, Adam C. Cole, 25, told two EMS workers that there was a second medical emergency nearby. When workers got out of the ambulance, Cole allegedly got into the driver’s seat and took off.

A Schoharie County Sheriff’s deputy tried stopping the ambulance as it went east on I-88. State Police joined the chase.

The ambulance continued onto the Thruway, I-890 and into Schenectady. Cole crashed into a 1988 Nissan at the intersection of Eastern Avenue and McClellan Street.

Ejaz Ahmed works at the Lukoil gas station right where the crash happened. He said he saw the accident the moment it happened.

“It was a big accident really I was so scared. I was so scared. I locked the door. And said what’s going to happen here.,” Ahmed said. “I heard the sound of the big sound. It was a big sound. It went boom.”

One neighbor telling NewsChannel 13 that the street was then flooded with cops.

“I would say at least 25 cops at least. I mean, probably about ten cars, but at least 25 cops just running up and down the street with flashlights,” one neighbor said.

The driver of the Nissan, Jesus Espinal Jr., 24, of Utica, was taken to Albany Medical Center and is in critical condition.

Cole was the only person in the ambulance. He was not seriously hurt.

Police said that after taking the ambulance, he pulled over on Route 7 in Cobleskill and let out the patient at a Speedway gas station. She was taken by private vehicle to a nearby hospital, treated and released.

Cole has an active warrant on a grand larceny charge out of Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office. He is in custody and multiple charges are pending, police said.