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A pursuit involving a stolen ambulance late Saturday night ended at the front entrance to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office operations center. (COURTESY COLUMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)
After stealing an ambulance, a suspect hand delivered himself right to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office late Saturday night.
According to a CCSO release, a deputy responded with EMTs from Century Ambulance to the area of SE Baya Avenue and State Road 100 around 11:45 p.m. Saturday due to a man in an altered mental state, possibly under the influence of drugs.
While on scene, the man — 35-year-old Stanley Williams — entered the ambulance and drove away, according to the CCSO, with the deputy in pursuit.
According to the release, Williams hit a curb at some point during the pursuit, damaging one of the tires on the ambulance before he pulled off U.S. Highway 90 East and into the entrance of the CCSO Operations Center.
Williams drove the ambulance across the front lawn of the CCSO office before stopping near the main entrance where he was taken into custody.
“It’s not every day a pursuit ends at our front door,” Sheriff Mark Hunter said in a release. “This just goes to show that we never know what we will encounter from one moment to the next. I’m glad nobody was hurt and the suspect was not able to pose a greater risk to our community.”
Other than the cosmetic damage to the lawn, there was no damage to the CCSO property, the release states.
Williams was admitted to an area hospital for further evaluation.
The CCSO is filing charges with the Third Circuit State Attorney’s Office for grand theft and fleeing and eluding.