A woman who stole an ambulance from Kunkel Ambulance Service in Utica drove it down the New York State Thruway, pursued by state police, until she crashed it into Irondequoit Bay at the Newport Yacht Club on Sunday.
Troopers say the woman drove west on the Thruway as they made several attempts to stop her. She refused to comply, and eventually made her way onto I-490 at Victor and from there, into Rochester. Trooper Mark O’Donnell says she drove around the city for awhile, then got onto Seneca Avenue in Irondequoit which she followed to the yacht club.
A witness working on the docks said the ambulance came up the road with its siren on, crashed through the gate, and went airborne off the boat ramp into the water. It floated for a few minutes before sinking in about 30 feet of water. A boater rescued the woman, who climbed out a side window. She was then arrested by deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office marine unit.
She was treated at the scene by Irondequoit Ambulance, and charges are pending. Meanwhile, a heavy-duty tow truck and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office SCUBA team were able to get a cable onto the sunken ambulance and pull it out of the bay.
Troopers say they’ll be very interested to find out why the woman did what she did.