Stolen ambulance back in service

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police were able to pull fingerprints from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department ambulance that was stolen from St. Vincent's Medical Center in Riverside on Saturday.

Hospital officials tell Action News that a security guard was stationed right outside the ER and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper was parked right near the ambulance when someone just drove off in the bright red truck just after 2 a.m.

Rescue #5 is now back in service  with no damage.  Police recovered the unharmed truck parked on St. Johns Avenue in Riverside, less than a mile from the hospital and just 26 minutes after paramedics notified the sheriff's officer on duty at the hospital.

Tom Francis, a JFRD spokesman, told Action News the department has never seen an incident like this in at least half a century.

"Maybe someone thought they could gain access to the drugs that are in back of the unit," said Francis, "[But] you have to have the PIN number or the key to get in; it's impossible."

According to JFRD, the ambulance driver did nothing wrong.

As for how ambulance drivers park outside emergency rooms in the future, JFRD is not going to change protocol.

No arrests have been made.

WJAX