Hospital security, police nab man trying to steal ambulance
HOBOKEN, NJ November 14 2019 — A Lyndhurst man locked himself inside an ambulance at Hoboken University Medical Center and tried to drive off with the vehicle on Sunday morning, police said.
According to the Hoboken Police Department, police responded to the hospital at 7:34 a.m. after receiving a call from security officers about a man wouldn’t leave the waiting room.
The man – who wasn’t a patient or waiting for anyone – was escorted outside by police, who stayed in the area to see if he was going to return. After a few minutes, they noticed the man pacing back and forth near an ambulance parked outside the hospital, authorities said.
The man then got into the ambulance, locking the doors when police approached the vehicle. He tried to put the ambulance into gear several times but didn’t succeed, police said.
With help from hospital security, the officers were eventually able to get inside the ambulance through its rear double doors. As they tried to take the man into custody, he allegedly resisted by pulling his arms away and preventing police from handcuffing him, authorities said.
The man – later identified as Nicholas Soto, 30, of Lyndhurst – also tried to flee police headquarters while being fingerprinted, authorities said.
Police charged Soto with burglary, theft, escape and resisting arrest.
