Police: Man steals ambulance, crashes into several vehicles

ATHENS, Ga. — A man has been charged with stealing an ambulance from a hospital before he was arrested in a drugstore break-in.

According to Athens-Clarke County police, 41-year-old Edward Lee Wessinger is accused of taking an ambulance early Sunday at St. Mary's Hospital while the driver was inside waiting for a patient discharge.

Police told Channel 2 Action News that Wessinger ran several red lights, hopped curbs and hit several cars before he ditched the ambulance near an apartment complex on Broad Street.

Wessinger didn't hurt anyone but police said his crime spree wasn't complete.

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Less than an hour later, officers were called to a Walgreens drugstore on Hawthorne Avenue, where they found Wessinger inside. They said he used a rock to break the front door glass.

Officers were nearby, investigating the stolen ambulance, when they got the call about the burglary.

Police say Wessinger is homeless.

He's being held in the Clarke County jail on charges of vehicle theft, burglary and a number of traffic offenses.

Cox Media Group