DECATUR, Ga. (AP) A patient wearing a gown and rubber gloves stole an ambulance with two paramedics in the back from a metro Atlanta hospital Saturday and drove at high speeds for several miles before crashing into a building, authorities said.
Both paramedics were being treated for injuries sustained in the crash and were in stable condition. The ambulance thief managed to jump from the vehicle before it wrecked and remained at large Saturday afternoon.
The paramedics were parked outside Emory University Medical Center and doing paperwork in back of the ambulance when it suddenly started speeding away, said DeKalb County fire Battalion Chief Christopher Morrison Jr.
``A patient came out of the hospital, dressed in a gown and rubber gloves, jumped in the front seat, locked the doors and took off in the unit,'' Morrison said.
He said the man who jumped behind the wheel knew the paramedics were in the back.
``He looked through the little window in the back and told them, `Be quiet and hold on,''' Morrison said.
The ambulance thief drove for several miles at high speed before he ran off the road, Morrison said. The ambulance tore down a utility pole and crashed through the front of a chiropractor's office.
One of the paramedics used the ambulance's radio to call 911 and give dispatchers the speeding vehicle's location throughout the wild ride. Morrison said the ambulance was a total loss after the crash, and the office that it plowed into had substantial damage.
Authorities were still searching for the person who stole the ambulance Saturday afternoon.
Saturday
April 27th, 2024
6:24PM
