A Marietta man is still behind bars after allegedly stealing an ambulance from WellStar Kennestone Hospital on St. Patrick’s Day and taking it on an early morning joyride.
The ambulance was driven about 25 miles and abandoned in Woodstock, a spokeswoman for Puckett EMS said.
According to the company, EMTs were inside the hospital dropping off a patient when their vehicle was taken. The ambulance was not running but the keys were left inside.
The 2014 Ford was tracked to a Woodstock park using GPS locators inside the vehicle and recovered by Marietta police about 30 minutes after it was stolen, the company said.
Police arrested 37-year-old William Chastain at Olde Rope Mill Park in connection with the theft, jail records show.
According to Chastain’s warrant, he shouldn’t have been driving at all since his license was suspended in late 2017.
He is charged with felony theft by taking and driving on a suspended license and remains at the Cobb jail on a $7,920 bond, records show.
Puckett said in the statement that its maintenance department double-checked the ambulance’s mechanical system, medical equipment and supplies before returning it to service.
The alleged theft was the first of two instances last week in which ambulances were stolen from Georgia hospitals.
Days later, an Athens man allegedly took an ambulance parked outside St. Mary’s Hospital before breaking into a nearby Walgreens, police said.
RELATED: Cops: DUI suspect stole ambulance for joyride before robbing Walgreens in Athens
Edward Lee Wessinger, 41, is accused of stealing the vehicle and driving it around the city while under the influence, Athens police said. His license was also suspended.
Police found the abandoned ambulance in the 2500 block of West Broad Street.
Video evidence allegedly captured the stolen vehicle running multiple red lights, striking several vehicles and jumping a few curbs.
Wessinger faces charges of smash-and-grab burglary, motor vehicle theft, DUI, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license, Clarke County jail records show.
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