A man has been arrested in Invercargill after an ambulance was stolen with a police officer and St John staff still inside yesterday morning.
Police were called to assist an ambulance crew dealing with an “agitated person” on Elles Rd at around 2.45am.
“While a police officer and an ambulance officer were speaking with a man in the back of the ambulance, he jumped into the driver’s seat of the ambulance and allegedly began driving,” police said.
The vehicle travelled about a block before the officer managed to knock it out of gear and stop it.
A “brief scuffle” followed, and a 20-year-old Invercargill man was taken into custody.
He was charged with two counts of kidnapping, driving while suspended, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, failing to stop and two counts of resisting police.
Inspector Matt Scoles said it was lucky the incident did not turn into a tragedy.
“Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but there was a risk of serious injury to the people in that ambulance, none of whom were restrained, and a serious risk to the public.
“This was an unpredictable situation and both the Police and ambulance officers involved acted swiftly, doing what they could to end it before anything worse happened.”
St John Southland area operations manager Braden Stark confirmed the theft and said the ambulance staff on board were “shaken from the ordeal but uninjured”.
“Hato Hone St John is providing support to our people and will assist the NZ Police in its inquiries.”
Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.
