Stolen ambulance crashes into Dallas business
DALLAS - A stolen ambulance crashed into a building near Dallas Love Field Tuesday morning.
Police said the suspect called for medical assistance in the 1200 block of Mockingbird Lane around 6 a.m. When paramedics got there, he jumped into the ambulance and drove off.
The man crashed into the Dallas Foundation and Drilling building on Plantation Road. Workers there reportedly held him inside until officers got there to take him into custody.
“When I first saw it, I thought that guy was in a hurry,” said Dallas Foundation and Drilling employee Ronny Howard. “I didn't realize it had been stolen at the time.”
The unnamed suspect was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. No one else was hurt.
“There was another vehicle sitting right here,” Howard said. “He clipped it just a little bit, clipped a corner of the building and that probably jerked him into this other building, where he finally stopped.”
After the suspect was taken away, Howard was left to clean up the mess at his business. He saw another employee, Joe Hodge, get out of the way of the ambulance just in time.
“He was gassing it, spinning out, coming around the corner by our fuel tanks,” Howard said. “There was a man standing beside it and he sees him coming, and he got out of the way just in time.”
A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson said Rescue 11, the stolen ambulance, sustained severe front-end damage. New DFR chief David Coatney said an equipped ambulance like the one wrecked Tuesday costs $150,000. Coatney said he’s going to consider enhanced security protocols.
“Obviously we'll look at our business practices, and if something needs to change to make sure we have better security of our equipment or personnel, we'll make those changes,” Coatney said. “But you can't accommodate for every eventuality that happens unfortunately.”
Tuesday was the second time in three days an ambulance was stolen. A privately owned one was taken from Baylor Hospital Sunday. The 24-year-old accused of stealing it drove to a nearby Jack in the Box.