Trending Topics

Man takes ambulance for joy ride, strands patient and EMTs

The patient, who was in respiratory distress, was transported to a hospital after another ambulance was called

smith_pa_420.jpg

Leonard Eugene Smith

Police photo

Associated Press

YORK, Pa. — Emergency workers in Pennsylvania got an unpleasant surprise when they wheeled a patient out of a home to their ambulance, only to find it wasn’t there.

Police in York tell the York Dispatch 21-year-old Leonard Eugene Smith took the vehicle for a joy ride Friday before ditching it. They say an in-vehicle camera captured his actions and a tracking device led them to the ambulance.

Jim Arvin, president and CEO of White Rose Ambulance, says the video shows Smith “having a good time” behind the wheel, adding he “seemed excited.”

Smith is charged with felony theft and a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person. He’s jailed on $75,000 bail.

The patient, who was having breathing problems, got to the hospital without much delay after another ambulance was called.

WHAT TO READ NEXT
Atrium Health Navicent Emergency Medical Services has begun operations in Baldwin County
Kern County Medic Squad 63 had ROSC with a cardiac arrest patient prior to transport
Officials in Traverse City have begun working on recruitment, apparatus and transitioning from Mobile Medical Response
Two South Central Ambulance District paramedics were injured after their ambulance was struck by another vehicle