VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A person is in custody after stealing an ambulance from Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Tuesday evening, police said.
The suspect hit a pillar in a parking garage across the street from the Hilton hotel at the Oceanfront.
Video on Instagram showed the ambulance speeding west across Pacific Avenue with several police cars following.
WATCH: Stolen ambulance drives down Pacific Avenue
Cindi Naqvi, the woman who captured the video, told News 3 she heard the sirens on Pacific Avenue just after 7 p.m.
"I looked out the window and saw a police car with sirens turn into the Cavalier neighborhood across from me and they got out and took the tire spikes out and waited," Naqvi said in an email. "That's when I went out on my balcony and waited to see what was going on. More police cars kept coming and blocked off 40th and Pacific. Then I heard sirens and saw the ambulance coming and started to video. Smelt like burnt rubber as it passed by."
Police arrested the driver at Atlantic Avenue and Laskin Road shortly after the ambulance was taken.
News 3 reached out to Sentara for comment. The ambulance did not belong to the hospital system, but they shared this statement.
It appears, from photos, that the stolen ambulance belongs to the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad, which is one of ten volunteer squads serving the city of Virginia Beach. It's their truck and their policies on how they secure their vehicles, and whether they leave them running when delivering patients to our hospitals. [...] There's a hybrid relationship among the volunteer squads and paid city staff who administer the Fire and EMS services.
There was no more information provided on the driver's condition, pending charges, or damage to structures at the Oceanfront.
We will update this story as we learn more.
