The Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON — A man stole a Houston Fire Department ambulance outside a hospital before wrecking it a few minutes later, officials said.
The man grabbed the ambulance about 6:30 p.m. Monday after the driver and HFD paramedics got out to take a patient into Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, HFD officials said.
The man drove off in the stolen ambulance but was spotted by another HFD crew, who followed and called Houston police to report the theft, officials said.
After a short chase, the man wrecked the stolen ambulance along Bellaire near the Sam Houston Tollway, officials said.
He was taken into custody.
An HFD ambulance is typically kept running after taking a patient to a hospital to power the electronics inside. They aren’t locked because someone may need to move it in the event another ambulance is arriving at the hospital with a critical patient, HFD officials said.
There were no reported injuries but the ambulance was severely damaged.
The driver and HFD paramedic are assigned to Station 80 along the 16000 block of Chimney Rock.
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