Man jailed for hijacking ambulance with elderly patient inside

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 10 Nov, 13:49 · Archive

A man has been jailed for stealing an ambulance from a hospital with an elderly patient and paramedic inside.

Marshall Leese, 32, was jailed after hijacking an ambulance from outside Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent in March. He drove the vehicle erratically for more than 20 minutes, including through red lights, with an elderly patient on board receiving treatment for a head injury and a paramedic in the back.

Leese had been ushered out of the driver's seat of a different ambulance by paramedics moments before he took the second vehicle from a triage bay. The ambulance was in 'run lock' mode, which keeps the vehicle running but allows paramedics to take the keys out of the ignition. A terrified paramedic shouted at him to pull over but Leese did not respond. The court heard that if the ambulance had crashed, the elderly patient, who was on blood thinners, would have had 'no chance of survival'.

Leese, who suffered delusions as a result of using the synthetic drug monkey dust, eventually abandoned the vehicle at a petrol station on the A34 in Newcastle-under-Lyme. He fled into woodland but was found by a police sniffer dog. During his police interview, Leese denied taking the vehicle. He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking.

How it is being reported

• Man high on monkey dust hijacked ambulance with patient still insideMarshall Leese hijacked the ambulance on March 25 (Picture: PA/Shutterstock) A man high on drugs hijacked an ambulance with an elderly patient in the back and drove it through red lights, a court has heard. A ‘terrified’ paramedic asked Marshall Leese, 32, to pull over the emergency vehicle taken…Metro · 10 Nov, 14:06
• Monkey dust addict who stole ambulance with elderly patient and paramedic in the back is jailedMarshall Leese, 32, a prolific user of monkey dust, took the ambulance from outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent in March.Daily Mail · 10 Nov, 13:39
• Ambulance hijacked from UK hospital with elderly patient inside - horror footageMarshall Leese, 32, stole the ambulance from a triage bay outside Royal Stoke University Hospital before driving it 'erratically' through red lightsThe Mirror · 10 Nov, 13:09

In this story: Marshall Leese · Royal Stoke University Hospital · Stoke-on-Trent · Newcastle-under-Lyme

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