Man accused of stealing ambulance outside ER, leading police on chase

Published 8:59 pm Sunday, June 13, 2021

A New Orleans man is accused of stealing an ambulance outside a New Orleans emergency room and then leading a chase through suburbs across the Mississippi River.

Kevin Arnold, 33, was arrested early Sunday on charges including aggravated flight, resisting an officer and possessing a stolen vehicle, police in suburban Gretna told news outlets.

Arnold was being held without bond on the stolen vehicle charge, with bond set at $1,000 on the other charges, The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported. Any theft charge would be brought in New Orleans.

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It was not immediately clear whether Arnold had an attorney who could speak for him.

The Acadian Ambulance vehicle was stolen about 4:30 a.m. Sunday from outside the emergency room at University Hospital.

A Gretna officer tried to stop it on the elevated Westbank Expressway, but the driver sped off at about 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour), police said.

After about eight miles (13 kilometers) and passing from the elevated highway to ground-level U.S. 90, the driver abandoned the ambulance in a neighborhood and ran. He was quickly arrested, officials said.