I-5 standoff with Kelso man in ambulance ends peacefully

Law enforcement responded to Interstate 5 in Vancouver late Thursday night for a report of a standoff with a Kelso man in an ambulance.

Clark County sheriff’s deputies and the Washington State Patrol were called to Milepost 5 on I-5 north in Vancouver about 11 p.m. Thursday to assist American Medical Response personnel with a patient who had become combative and forced medics to pull over and leave the ambulance, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

Medics were transporting Joseph Webb, 37, of Kelso to an area hospital when he became combative and began attempting to access something in his bags.

“The medics pulled over along the freeway and vacated the ambulance for their safety,” according to the statement. A half-hour standoff followed where Webb could be seen looking out through the back doors of the ambulance.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were able to contact Webb by phone and negotiate until he came out of the ambulance. He was transported to an area hospital in a different ambulance.

There were no injuries.