As many as 30 ATV riders surrounded and stopped an ambulance transporting a sick child on Monday, and over the weekend a D.C. police officer was hit by a group of ATV riders, police said. The incidents come after many others involving ATV s and dirt bikes in the Washington, D.C., region.
An alert was sent out to fire departments on Monday after the attack on the ambulance, which was stopped by ATV riders while transporting a child to Children's National Medical Center in Northwest D.C.
One of the ATV riders opened the door to the ambulance and accused the ambulance driver of cutting him off, according to D.C. police.
The ambulance driver called 911. It wasn't until police arrived that the ATVs dispersed and allowed the ambulance to continue, police said.
In a separate incident over the weekend, a D.C. police officer was hit by a group of ATVs. The officer was struck by an ATV and dragged down a street in Southeast D.C., police said.
"They come back every summer," Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.
Lanier said there is a regional effort involving state, local and federal law enforcement agencies to stop illegal ATV and dirt bike riders.