Ga. Medics Taken for Ride in Back of Stolen Ambulance

It was an ambulance ride two Georgia paramedics won't soon forget.

It involved speeding through the streets. But, the DeKalb medics were both in the back of their ambulance. A patient from Emory University Hospital was behind the wheel, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

It started just before 2 p.m. Saturday outside the hospital while the medics were in the back of the ambulance completing paperwork and cleaning up.

DeKalb Fire Battalion Chief Christopher Morrison Jr. told reporters “a patient came out of the hospital, dressed in a gown and rubber gloves, jumped in the front seat, locked the doors and took off in the unit.” 

The driver knew the medics were in the back because he told them to be quiet and hold on, he added.

Morrison said that even though the paramedics, a male and a female firefighter, were caught by surprise and “jostled around,” one of them was able to radio the ambulance’s location throughout the incident.

“One of our EMTs used one of our tactical channels, and as they were crossing major streets, he was actually giving a description of the location, so 911 dispatch as well as police officers and firefighters, we could actually hear the locations they were at so in our efforts to find them, it gave us a play-by-play,” Morrison told reporters.

After racing for several mies, the driver lost control of the ambulance and struck a utility pole before coming to rest in a chiropractor's office.

The patient was located several hours later. Frank Ponquinette, 36, remained in jail Monday.

The medics were taken to a hospital in another ambulance for treatment.