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 driver’s 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.
“I saw the lady standing there, and then she just jumped in the ambulance, put on the uniform, and was trying to start it,” 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, “Oh, this is not good.”
Statement from DC Fire and EMS regarding stolen ambulance pic.twitter.com/fAaQxqVgRh
— DC Fire and EMS Department (@dcfireems) November 8, 2023
Evans notified the ambulance crew, which proceeded to make a call for help regarding the stolen ambulance.
“Someone stole our ambulance while we were assisting a patient in her apartment,” one of the paramedics could be heard saying during a dispatch call.
A witness, Kenneth Davis told the outlet that “five cops” and “three motorcycles” were chasing the ambulance around.
An ambulance was stolen in Washington DC this morning. This is alleged eye witness footage of the stolen vehicle.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 8, 2023
The ambulance was tracked down and a suspect has been taken into custody.
pic.twitter.com/HAwrML9gAM
DC Fire and EMS confirmed in its statement that the paramedic crew had “stayed on the call and treated the patient who was unharmed.”
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 Department’s crime statistics.