Man steals ambulance, leads police on chase

FLORENCE — Florence police are trying to decide if they will seek charges against a man they say ran out of a hospital, stole an ambulance, hit a motorist and then led law enforcement officers on a chase Thursday afternoon.

The incident happened about 1 p.m. when a patient at McLeod Regional Medical Center ran out of the hospital and got into a Darlington County Emergency Medical Services ambulance that was apparently left running and parked by the entrance to the McLeod’s Emergency Room, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.

Police said the man drove away from the hospital, hitting another ambulance and a gate in the process.

Law enforcement officers began pursuing the ambulance near the 400 block of South Dargan Street.

The chase continued onto Oakland Avenue and into the intersection of Church and East Cheves streets, where police say the ambulance crashed into a 1995 Mercury Cougar driven by Florence resident Mildred Williams.

“I wasn’t thinking nothing, I was up in the middle of the street,” Williams said after the crash. “I thought (the ambulance) was taking somebody to the hospital, but it didn’t have no sirens on or nothing.”

The chase continued down Cheves and onto East Palmetto Street, where the driver finally was caught and taken into custody, Raines said.

“It wasn’t a high-speed chase, he just wasn’t stopping,” Raines said.

The man was awaiting transfer to another medical facility when he drove away from campus in an unauthorized vehicle, according to a press release issued Thursday by Jumana Swindler, McLeod’s marketing and public relations director.

Investigators are considering charges against the man, but he isn’t under arrest, Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said.

The man was returned to McLeod after police apprehended him, Shells said.

Williams said her niece was taking her to the hospital to see whether she had suffered any injuries in the crash.

No other injuries were reported as a result of the incident, Raines said.

— Morning News Staff Writer Jamie Durant contributed to this report.