A Washington, D.C. woman was arrested on Wednesday after she stole an ambulance and led Police officers on a chase around the block.
Francine Hilton, 46, reportedly hopped into the driverās seat of the ambulance as paramedics were inside a nearby apartment located on the 3600 block of 22nd Street SE, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (DC Fire and EMS) confirmed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
āI saw the lady standing there, and then she just jumped in the ambulance, put on the uniform, and was trying to start it,ā witness Maurice Evans told NBCWashington. Evans had been working inside another apartment when he had stepped outside to see the lady stealing the ambulance.
Evans added that he said, āOh, this is not good.ā
Evans notified the ambulance crew, which proceeded to make a call for help regarding the stolen ambulance.
āSomeone stole our ambulance while we were assisting a patient in her apartment,ā one of the paramedics could be heard saying during a dispatch call.
A witness, Kenneth Davis told the outlet that āfive copsā and āthree motorcyclesā were chasing the ambulance around.
DC Fire and EMS confirmed in its statement that the paramedic crew had āstayed on the call and treated the patient who was unharmed.ā
Hilton was taken into custody and is facing charges related to theft, unauthorized usage of a vehicle, and fleeing from law enforcement.
To date, Washington, D.C. has reported 6,038 motor vehicle thefts, a 100% increase from 3,022 reported in 2022, according to the Metropolitan Police Departmentās crime statistics.