A man stole a Fort Worth ambulance early Thursday. He drove south on Interstate 35 into Austin. Police say he rammed several cars and would not stop. State troopers shot him dead.

The chase shut down a big part of I-35. It happened in the middle of the day. Traffic backed up for hours.

I-35 is the main road that links South Texas to Austin. It also runs to Dallas and the rest of the state. Thousands of drivers use it every day. Many go to work or visit family. A shutdown like this causes delays far past Austin. South Texans who use that road to reach Austin feel it too.

The chase happened during Thursday morning rush hour. That made the backup even worse. Commuters and truckers got stuck. Drivers from the Rio Grande Valley often use I-35 to reach Austin or Dallas. A big shutdown like this slows down the whole route.

The Fort Worth Fire Department said someone stole one of its ambulances overnight. The truck was taken from Station 4. That station sits on Old Mansfield Road in Fort Worth. Fire department spokesman Craig Trojacek gave a statement. He said the case is still developing. He said several police agencies are working on it.

The Texas Department of Public Safety got word about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. The stolen ambulance was in Williamson County. It was heading south on I-35 toward Austin.

DPS Sergeant Jason Galaviz said troopers turned on their lights. They tried to pull the ambulance over. The driver would not stop. He sped up instead. He started running into other cars on purpose.

Troopers tried a PIT maneuver. That is when police tap the back of a fleeing car. It spins the car around and stops it. The move did not work this time.

The ambulance kept ramming cars. It drove onto the upper deck of I-35. A DPS trooper then fired his gun at the driver. The man died at the scene.

DPS has not released the driver's name. The Texas Rangers are now investigating the shooting. That is normal any time a trooper fires a gun on duty.

Fort Worth police are looking into how the ambulance got stolen. Ambulance thefts do not happen often. But they are risky. A stolen ambulance can run red lights. It can use the emergency lane too. Other drivers often pull over for an ambulance without a second thought. That trust can make a stolen one even more dangerous.

Photos from Austin TV station KXAN showed the ambulance on the bridge. The front of the truck had heavy damage. That matches what police said about the crashes.

High-speed chases happen often on Texas roads. But a chase in a stolen ambulance is rare. Fire crews across the state need the public to trust them. People need to believe an ambulance on the road is there to help.

Austin police shut down all southbound lanes of I-35. The closed area ran from Highway 183 into downtown. Both the upper deck and lower deck were closed. The closure started around 7:40 a.m. Police said at the time it could last several hours.

By about 1:45 p.m., crews reopened the lower deck near Highway 183. The upper deck stayed closed. Investigators kept working the scene.

No other deaths have been reported. It is not yet known if the drivers hit by the ambulance got hurt. DPS said more details will come out later.

DPS and Fort Worth police both say their work is not done. DPS has not said if the driver had any tie to Fort Worth or Austin. It is also not clear why he took the ambulance. Answers may come once the Texas Rangers finish their probe.

This is a developing story. El Tejano will update this article as new facts come in.