A quiet Saturday midday in Memphis turned tense when, according to police, a private ambulance was carjacked at the intersection of Sam Cooper Boulevard and Tillman Street and then driven off with officers in pursuit.
The Memphis Police Department said the stolen rig led officers on a brief chase that wrapped up on Foxhall Drive in Parkway Village. The suspect was taken into custody, and the department reported no injuries in connection with the incident.
A spokesperson for MPD told Action News 5 that officers were first dispatched to the Sam Cooper and Tillman intersection at about 12:04 p.m. The station reports officers spotted the private ambulance, attempted a traffic stop, and the driver refused to comply, triggering the pursuit that ended in Parkway Village. MPD said the driver is in custody, and charges were not immediately known.
Not an isolated incident
Memphis has seen this storyline before. A stolen ambulance crash in December, covered in a report on a stolen ambulance crash, raised alarms among first responders about unsecured vehicles and what can happen when an emergency rig falls into the wrong hands.
Those concerns are not just local. Industry reporting has highlighted a broader trend of ambulance thefts across the country, with EMS1 noting more than 40 stolen ambulances reported nationwide over an 18 month span. EMS leaders say the combination of high-stress scenes, running vehicles, and quick patient turnarounds can create tempting targets for opportunistic thieves.
Possible charges under state law
Under Tennessee law, taking a motor vehicle by force or intimidation can be prosecuted as carjacking, a Class B felony under Tennessee Code § 39-13-404. Depending on what investigators determine about how the ambulance was taken, prosecutors could weigh carjacking charges, standard vehicle theft, or both.
For now, MPD has not released the suspect’s name or any additional details about the arrest, and Action News 5 reports that potential charges were still unknown at the time of publication. This story will be updated as officials release more information.
