Memphis man dead after jumping from moving ambulance

One man is dead and another is in custody after a strange incident on Interstate 240 Saturday night, Memphis police said.

The encounter began around 8:45 p.m. on I-240 near Highway 385, police said. A 37-year-old man was in the back of a private ambulance when he somehow got out of the restraints that kept him tied to the gurney, police said. He then flung open the ambulance door and, apparently, jumped out of the moving vehicle to get free.

But when he landed, he was soon hit and killed by a Chevy Cobalt driven by 39-year-old Warren Ricks, Memphis police said. Ricks remained on the scene, according to an affidavit.

Responding officers smelled intoxicants coming from Ricks, the affidavit said, and noticed that he had bloodshot eyes. Ricks was arrested and charged with DUI. He also was driving on a revoked license, had no insurance and had outstanding warrants for his arrest. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail on $3,500 bond.

Ricks has a long criminal history, including a previous DUI conviction in 2005, police said.

Police haven't released the victim's name yet or any indication of why he jumped out of a moving ambulance.

Calls to the ambulance company were not returned Sunday.