Nara Pref.: Hospitalized Man Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Ambulance Because He ‘Wanted to Escape Hospital’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:38 JST, April 11, 2024

A man hospitalized with fractured bones was arrested on suspicion of stealing an ambulance because he wanted to escape from a hospital in Nara Prefecture on Wednesday, police said.

“I was hospitalized with broken bones and wanted to escape from the hospital,” the 69-year-old construction worker from Osaka City was quoted as saying.

He is suspected of stealing an ambulance, worth ¥29 million, parked at the emergency entrance of the Minami Nara General Medical Center in Oyodo, Nara Prefecture. on Wednesday morning. He drove on the Keinawa Expressway and other roads for about 30 minutes.

Police stopped the ambulance in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture. A communication device inside was found to be broken.