A Florida man allegedly resorted to stealing an ambulance and led authorities on a car chase after becoming frustrated over not receiving a free ride home from the hospital.
Ambulance carjacker leads police on a car chase
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the suspect, identified as 43-year-old Michael J. Esquilin, took a Tampa Fire Rescue ambulance from HCA South Tampa hospital on Saturday night.
Troopers responded to reports of the stolen emergency vehicle around 8:30 p.m. and quickly located it.
Law enforcement attempted to pull over Esquilin, but he refused to comply, choosing instead to evade officers by ignoring multiple stop signs.
Throughout the chase, the emergency lights on the ambulance remained off, police said.
The suspect then reportedly began driving against the flow of traffic on a city street, narrowly avoiding head-on collisions.
Officers eventually brought the ambulance to a stop, but Esquilin did not immediately surrender.
According to officials, he took his time finishing a beer in full view of the troopers before resisting arrest by gripping the steering wheel as officers attempted to remove him from the vehicle.
Authorities reported that Esquilin admitted to drinking for two consecutive days and became angry when paramedics refused to drive him home, prompting him to take the ambulance himself.
He now faces multiple charges, including burglary, grand theft of an emergency vehicle, fleeing and eluding, DUI (fourth or subsequent offense), and habitual driving without a license.
Esquilin is currently being held at the Hillsborough County Jail without bond.
Meth user flees from police
In a separate incident, a Florida woman was taken into custody for allegedly committing two of the very same crimes she had previously been charged with and released on bond for, authorities said.
Kristin Ann Mittelstadt, 35, is facing six charges, including fleeing to elude, knowingly driving with a suspended or revoked license, habitual offender driving with a suspended or revoked license, reckless fleeing, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Polk County Jail records.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged the pattern of offenses in a statement that took a humorous jab at the suspect’s situation.
“Mittelstadt told deputies that she fled because she knew that if she got caught, she would likely be going to jail for a long time,” the statement read.
“She may have thought that due to the fact that she was already out on bond for Fleeing to Elude and Knowingly Driving While License Suspended/Revoked.”
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A deputy on patrol spotted a silver Ford Mustang convertible swerving left of the centerline on the street.
Suspecting erratic driving, the officer began following the vehicle before initiating a traffic stop, according to an affidavit filed in Polk County court.
“I utilized my patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens to conduct this attempted traffic stop,” the deputy penned. “The vehicle then increased speed from approximately 40 mph to 60 mph and fled.”
While the speed increase was relatively minor, the pursuit soon became more dangerous, authorities said.
As Mittelstadt approached an intersection with a highway, where vehicles were backed up for roughly 100 yards, she allegedly drove into oncoming traffic before cutting through a gas station parking lot to evade capture.
The maneuver briefly allowed her to escape the deputy’s line of sight.
Police deploy PIT maneuver to end car chase
Additional officers soon joined the pursuit and managed to relocate the Mustang. However, when law enforcement attempted another traffic stop, Mittelstadt allegedly sped away once more.
Ultimately, deputies executed a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT maneuver), which forced the fleeing vehicle into a controlled spin, rendering it inoperable. Mittelstadt was taken into custody shortly thereafter.
Following her arrest, deputies read Mittelstadt her Miranda rights, at which point she reportedly admitted that she ran from authorities to avoid returning to jail due to her suspended driver’s license.
“Post Miranda warning, Kristin advised she had fled from law enforcement because she did not want to go back to jail for her driver’s license,” the affidavit states.
“Kristin advised she knew her Florida Driver’s license was revoked. Kristin also admitted that she had smoked some methamphetamine earlier in the day.”
Authorities revealed that Mittelstadt’s driving privileges had been revoked since 2009. She is currently being held on a $12,000 bond.
