CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A man somehow managed to allegedly steal an Amerimed ambulance parked outside Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge on Wednesday.
The medics were still inside the ambulance but managed to escape by jumping out of the back of the ambulance at some point.
Multiple agencies joined in on the pursuit that winded through Henry and Clayton counties on Wednesday afternoon.
Many drivers witnessed the chaos, including Big June, who said he had just pulled out of the Walmart in Morrow and was heading down Jonesboro Road.
“I was crossing over Lake Harbin Road, heading to South Lake Mall, when a guy in an ambulance come through speeding,” Big June explained.
He said there were law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions coming in all directions heading toward I-75.
“I thought I was tripping at first. It’s not something you see every day,” Big June said.
He said he had some time, so he decided to be a little nosey and continued down Jonesboro. It wasn’t a few minutes later that he got an alert from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office asking drivers to avoid Tara Boulevard near Dixon Road.
As he made his way over to that area, he quickly realized what he saw was real -- and it only got crazier.
“I knew I wasn’t tripping,” Big June said in a video he posted to Instagram. He said he saw the suspect drive by him in the ambulance and that he didn't seem bothered at all.
"When he passed me, he had one hand on the steering wheel -- right hand on the steering wheel -- (and) he had like a McDonald's cup in his left hand," Big June said.
Another person posted on social media a video saying, “Why this man stole a whole ambulance and crashed the ***** too.”
After more than 10 miles and unsuccessfully deploying spike strips, law enforcement decided to force the driver of the ambulance off the road using a PIT maneuver. He lost control, going through a median and slamming into a metal utility pole along Tara Boulevard.
This happened right across the street from Precision Tune Auto where Donnie Corley was inside working.
“I heard the sirens and all the commotion,” he said.
Corley said when he came out to see what was going on, “He got out of the driver seat and went down the hill and thought he was going to get away.”
Law enforcement was right behind him and ended up Tasing the suspect and taking him into custody.
“I’ve seen a lot, boy. I’ve seen high-speed chases, but not like that one,” Corley explained.
Not only did the suspect crash into the utility pole, but he also hit several other vehicles, including innocent drivers and law enforcement.
Big June said he saw a Georgia State Patrol trooper's car damaged along with a food trailer.
“I saw he had hit a barbeque truck. A guy had a barbeque trailer on the back of his pickup. I seen that off to the side,” Big June said, adding, “I saw a GSP vehicle with one of his wheels off of his car.”
No one was seriously hurt during the pursuit.
“Just got to expect the unexpected now, man,” Big June said.
It’s unclear what the suspect was being treated for at the hospital before he was released.
11Alive reached out to Amerimed Ambulance multiple times to find out how their employees are doing and to get a better understanding of how their ambulance was stolen, but they’ve yet to get back to us.
Georgia State Patrol said the suspect is being charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing, obstruction, theft by taking, hit and run and multiple other traffic violations.