Authorities in South Texas continue to investigate the theft of a red city ambulance that an unknown man stole during a call. The man drove the ambulance to Mexico where he abandoned it.
The case began on Sunday morning in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, where local fire and paramedics responded to a call about a man requesting medical care and needed to be taken to a hospital. According to information released by Brownsville police, while medical personnel were getting the man into the ambulance, he forced his way into the driver’s seat and drove off in a southward direction.
According to authorities, the man drove the ambulance across one of the international ports of entry by crashing through some road barriers on his way into Mexico.
The incident sparked controversy in Brownsville and in the Mexican city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where social media users posted photographs of the ambulance driving through the port of entry or through streets in Matamoros. It remains unclear how the driver of the ambulance was able to get past the security measures on both sides of the border.
Hours later, authorities in Mexico found the ambulance left behind at a park in Matamoros. The suspect managed to get away.
By Sunday evening, Mexican authorities turned the vehicle over to U.S. authorities at one of Brownsville’s international ports of entry. Brownsville Police did not provide additional details about the suspect or a possible motive for the ambulance’s theft.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
