ANTRIM, N.H. (MyKeeneNow)

A Bennington man is facing several charges after police say he crashed his car into a fire hydrant in Antrim on Saturday evening, then slipped out of an ambulance and ran off before being found by a police K-9.

Emergency crews were first called to Depot Street around 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 for reports of a vehicle that had veered off the road and struck a hydrant, sending water gushing into the roadway. When officers arrived, they found a heavily damaged 2007 Ford Fusion and identified the driver as 37-year-old Christopher Lachance, according to the Antrim Police Department. Police said Lachance showed signs of impairment.

Antrim Ambulance personnel evaluated Lachance at the scene and began transporting him to Monadnock Community Hospital. While the ambulance was traveling on Water Street, police said, Lachance unexpectedly exited the moving vehicle and ran into nearby woods.

Officers from Antrim and a K-9 team from Hillsboro launched a search of the area. Just after 7 p.m., Hillsboro Police Sgt. Hodgen and K-9 Voight located Lachance on North Bennington Road, near Bible Hill Road. Police said he assaulted an officer as they attempted to prepare him for transport after his arrest.

Lachance is charged with second-offense DUI, two counts of resisting arrest or detention, simple assault, and theft. He was held on preventative detention and is scheduled to appear in 6th Circuit Court in Hillsboro at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17.

Antrim Fire & Ambulance and the Hillsboro Police Department assisted at the scene.