Willoughby Hills ambulance theft, rescue

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WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio (WJW) — A firefighter was injured during an attempted ambulance theft at a local hospital Sunday morning, the Willoughby Hills Fire Department reported.

An ambulance crew had stopped at the University Hospitals Lake West Medical Center around 10:30 a.m. with an order to make a drug box exchange. Upon exiting the hospital, they saw a man hopping inside of the ambulance parked out front, and he began to drive off.

That’s when the fire department said that firefighter Brian Paladino, who is also a paramedic, jumped into action. He dove through the open driver’s side window and worked to subdue the man and get the steering wheel out of his hands.

“As a result, it caused the ambulance to jump a curb and crash into the helicopter landing pad of the hospital bringing the stolen ambulance to a halt,” the fire department said in a statement.

Hospital staff and other first responders descended on the crash, and they reportedly held the suspect in place until Willoughby police were able to arrive and take him into custody.

Paladino injured one of his ankles and arms in the incident, firefighters said.

The suspect was reportedly not injured. Officials said he was not a patient at the hospital.

“Anytime someone makes the extremely poor decision to steal a public safety vehicle is putting themselves and everyone around them at risk,” Fire Chief Robert Gandee said in a statement. “Thankfully, the quick heroic actions of Firefighter/Paramedic Brian Paladino averted a potentially more disastrous scenario.”