Authorities say a 58-year-old lady stole an ambulance from the parking lot of a Waffle House in McDonough and then led police on a high-speed, multi-county chase on Tuesday.
According to a report by McDonough, Georgia police, things got underway just after 1 a.m. when someone called for an ambulance at a Waffle House near the Avalon Parkway. A woman approached the ambulance crew as they were prepared to treat their patient, saying that she, too, needed an ambulance.
The EMTs told the woman, who they eventually identified as Andrea Bryant, that they had to tend to another patient and would dispatch another ambulance to pick her up.
Reports state that Bryant got into their ambulance and drove off as they were inside the restaurant, tending to the patient. The footage from the surveillance cameras verified the statements made by the emergency medical staff.
Bryant allegedly drove the car for roughly 40 miles south on I-75 to the I-475 split. The sheriff’s department said she did 86 to 88 miles per hour during the pursuit.
The sheriff’s office reported that two of the ambulance’s tires were blown using deflation devices while Bryant traveled south on I-475. She drove the ambulance for another mile before she panicked, abandoned it, and fled. After being detained, she was arrested.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Bryant was arrested for multiple traffic violations and a misdemeanor count of escaping or attempting to elude. She will also face car theft charges and obstruction of a first responder, as detailed in a McDonough police report. She has been held in custody without bond.
Multiple ambulance services nationwide have implemented new technologies and policies in response to the alarmingly high rate of ambulance theft.
