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Benjamin Randall Collins

Age : 26

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/13/2026

Location : Interstate 35 southbound upper deck near East 41st Street

City : Austin

County : Travis

State : Texas

Agency : Texas Department of Public Safety

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police following pursuit of stolen ambulance

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/13/2026, Benjamin Randall Collins was shot and killed by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper on the southbound upper deck of Interstate 35 in Austin following a police pursuit of a stolen Fort Worth Fire Department ambulance.

The ambulance had been stolen from Fort Worth Fire Department Station 4 at 2954 Old Mansfield Road in Fort Worth. The theft occurred before the ambulance was driven approximately 180 miles south toward the Austin area.

At approximately 6:30 a.m., Texas DPS was notified that the stolen ambulance was traveling southbound on Interstate 35 through Williamson County. Troopers located the ambulance and attempted to stop it by activating their emergency equipment. The driver continued south while DPS pursued him toward Austin.

According to DPS Sgt. Jason Galaviz, as the ambulance reached the area of Interstate 35 and U.S. 290, the driver allegedly began intentionally striking civilian vehicles with the ambulance.

DPS troopers attempted multiple PIT maneuvers against the ambulance but were unable to stop it. The ambulance continued southbound on Interstate 35 and entered the elevated southbound lanes through Central Austin.

At least one civilian was injured in a collision during the incident and was transported to a hospital with injuries reported as non-life-threatening.

The pursuit continued onto the southbound upper deck of Interstate 35 near East 41st Street. A Texas DPS trooper then fired at the driver of the ambulance, striking him. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The publicly reported justification for police efforts to stop the ambulance centered on the stolen emergency vehicle, the driver's continued flight, the collisions with civilian vehicles and the unsuccessful PIT maneuvers.

The fatal shooting brought the pursuit to an end on the I-35 upper deck. The incident resulted in extensive southbound highway closures while investigators processed the scene. Both the upper and lower southbound decks were initially affected, creating major traffic disruption through Central Austin.

As of 08/14/2026, authorities had not publicly released the identity of the DPS trooper who shot him.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-rangers-probe-dps-troopers-fatal-shooting-of-stolen-fort-worth-ambulance-driver
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/active-law-enforcement-incident-shuts-down-upper-deck-of-i-35/
https://www.kut.org/transportation/2026-08-13/austin-tx-i35-road-closure-traffic-police
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/traffic/article/austin-i35-closure-22386605.php
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/austin-fort-worth-texas-stolen-ambulance-dps-shooting
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/driver-of-stolen-fort-worth-ambulance-killed-by-dps-trooper-in-austin-after-ramming-vehicles-on-i-35/287-c491a802-db20-4d4d-af2d-0766ec55f3a5
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/fort-worth-fd-ambulance-stolen-overnight-multiple-agencies-investigating/4062087/