Paramedic jumps through window to stop man from stealing ambulance, fire officials say
Two Ohio paramedics made a standard pit stop at a hospital to exchange a drug box. When they walked out of the hospital, there was a man sitting in their ambulance, firefighters said.
The man was sitting in the passenger seat, the Willoughby Hills Fire Department said in a June 16 Facebook post, but then he slid over to the driver’s side.
He started to drive off in the ambulance, but paramedic Brian Paladino “jumped into action,” officials said.
Paladino, who is also a firefighter, jumped through the ambulance’s open window on the driver’s side and wrestled the driver, according to fire officials. The firefighter/paramedic wrangled the steering wheel away from the man while trying to maneuver the ambulance, the post said.
During the altercation, the ambulance crashed into University Hospitals Lake West Medical Center’s helicopter landing pad, officials said, bringing the vehicle to a stop.
Paladino’s partner and hospital staff held the man attempting to steal the vehicle until police arrived, fire officials said. He was arrested.
“Anytime someone makes the extremely poor decision to steal a public safety vehicle is putting themselves and everyone around them at risk. Thankfully, the quick heroic actions of Firefighter/Paramedic Brian Paladino averted a potentially more disastrous scenario,” Fire Chief Robert J. Gandee said in the Facebook post.
Paladino had a minor ankle and arm injury, and the ambulance had “moderate” damage, officials said. The man accused of attempting to steal the vehicle was not injured.
Willoughby Hills is about a 20-mile drive northeast of Cleveland.
This story was originally published June 17, 2024 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Paramedic jumps through window to stop man from stealing ambulance, fire officials say."
