ENCINITAS, Calif. -- A 19-year-old man was in custody Friday on suspicion of stealing a Carlsbad Fire Department ambulance while at an emergency room and leading police on a chase until the ambulance crashed near his home in Fairbanks Ranch, authorities said.

Nicholas A. Harris was being treated for a cut on his foot at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas when he allegedly took the ambulance, which was spotted by San Diego police officers at 12:35 a.m. in the area of Del Mar Heights Road and High Bluff Drive, authorities said.

The officers tried to stop the ambulance but the driver kept going, said San Diego police Sgt. Rich Nemetz.

A spike strip laid down by San Diego officers on Via De La Valle flattened the vehicle's tires, but the suspect still would not stop, he said.

During the pursuit, Harris allegedly rammed the ambulance into a sheriff's deputy's patrol cruiser twice, causing significant damage to the car and minor injuries to the deputy, sheriff's Lt. Michael Cea said.

The ambulance eventually crashed into a grove of eucalyptus trees in the upscale neighborhood of Fairbanks Ranch, where the suspect lives, according to sheriff's officials.

Harris fought with deputies as they tried to arrest him, prompting them to shoot him with Tasers, Cea said.

He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and auto theft, Cea said.

A second deputy was also injured slightly during the incident, he said.

The suspect may have been drunk, said sheriff's Lt. Sylvester Washington.