Hospital patient steals ambulance and leads police on chase, Tennessee cops say

A man was arrested after Tennessee police said he stole an ambulance from a hospital where he was a patient and led cops on a chase.

The 45-year-old man had been hospitalized at Nashville’s Summit Medical Center, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a Sept. 30 release.

A lawyer for the man told McClatchy News on Oct. 2 that he did not have a comment on the case.

The man has been charged with theft of a Nashville Fire Department ambulance, evading and resisting arrest, reckless driving and criminal impersonation of a first responder, police said.

The man stole the ambulance from the medical center in Davidson County on Sept. 30 and activated the lights and sirens, police said. He drove into neighboring Wilson County, where police began to pursue him, and a helicopter tracked his movements.

The man crashed into two cars on an overpass, sending one person to a hospital with minor injuries, the Mt. Juliet Police Department said in a news release.

He returned to Davidson County, police said, and an officer flattened his tires with spike strips. The man continued driving with flat tires until he got to an apartment complex, at which point he got out of the ambulance and ran, according to police.

The man surrendered when police said they would deploy a canine officer, according to Nashville police.

A Mt. Juliet officer also sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, police said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 8:31 AM with the headline "Hospital patient steals ambulance and leads police on chase, Tennessee cops say."