Woman crashes stolen ambulance in New York bay, police say

‘It was surreal to see somebody come flying through’

A woman who allegedly apprehended an ambulance in Utica, New York, crashed the vehicle in a bay after a lengthy pursuit on the New York State Thruway, police have said.

WHAM-TV reported that a 100-mile chase ensued following reports of a stolen ambulance from Kunkel Ambulance on Sunday before the vehicle crashed into Irondequoit Bay near Newport Yacht Club.

Police reportedly said that a woman refused to comply as state troopers attempted to pull the vehicle over several times.

David Drushler told the broadcaster that he had been making a delivery at the yacht club when he witnessed the vehicle crash into the water.

"People on the power boats around were yelling, ‘She’s drowning. She can’t swim.’ That’s when the power boats came down and fished her out,” Mr Drushler said.

According to Mr Drushler, the woman tried to get out of the vehicle via its window, trying to manoeuvre on top of the ambulance and hold onto something.

“It was surreal to see somebody come flying through, crashing through our gate and go into the water,” Bob Henry, who serves on the board of directors for the club, told the TV station.

Monroe County Sheriff’s scuba team located the vehicle in the water and spent more than an hour pulling it from the bay below.

A spokesperson for Kunkel Ambulance said the vehicle was taken while it was being cleaned, and that authorities used a GPS tracker installed inside it to track it.

The woman who allegedly took the ambulance was immediately taken into custody and charges regarding the incident are pending.