A 36-year-old man was airlifted Friday morning following a rollover car accident on North Whidbey, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

The car he was driving at the time of the incident, however, was not his own.

Police, fire departments and other first responders responded to the incident around 6:26 a.m. on March 8. Detective Ed Wallace said Frederick Vanbenschoten of Freeland was northbound on Hoffman Road in a red 1996 Jeep Cherokee when the vehicle drifted off the left side of the road and went down an embankment. It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

It turns out that the car Vanbenschoten was driving had been missing since Jan. 19, when it was stolen from in front of the gas pumps at the Country Store in Coupeville, according to Wallace. Vanbenschoten is suspected of stealing the vehicle. Its whereabouts between then and the day of the crash are not known.

Due to the nature of his injuries, Vanbenschoten was transported via helicopter to a hospital on the mainland. The helicopter landed in the area of Highway 20 and Hoffman Road, snarling traffic Friday morning.

Vanbenschoten was not immediately taken into custody, Wallace said, because of his injuries from the wreck. He may face charges once he is released.

Contrary to a social media rumor, the collision did not involve a house.

Prosecutors charged Vanbenschoten two years ago with possession of a stolen vehicle after police found him and a woman sleeping inside a pilfered car.