11/2/22 Anadarko, OK – Woman On Narcotics Enters Fire Station And Steals Medic 1 Ambulance – High Rate Of Speed – Crashes Into Civilian Pick Up – Ambulance Damaged – Arrested

Police say a Caddo County woman was arrested for stealing an ambulance from the Anadarko Fire Station Tuesday morning.

“Untrained, driving an ambulance, high rate of speeds, you know, she did hit a vehicle,” said Eric Harlan, the Anadarko Police Chief. “It’s dangerous.”

According to the city’s Fire Captain, E.J. Sorrels, he and his crew were inside the station doing a training when they heard a noise coming from the garage.

“We heard a door open on one of our ambulances,” said Sorrels. “At that point, we heard the ignition start.”

When the firefighters went into the garage, they said they saw Thelma Sikes in the ambulance’s driver’s seat.

“We attempted to stop her, and she proceeded to pull out of the station at a high rate of speed,” said Sorrels.

He confirmed that the ambulance’s keys were in the vehicle.

In a comment on its Facebook post, the Anadarko Fire/EMS page wrote:

“The ambulance was parked inside our station. It is common practice for most all emergency vehicles to leave the keys in them so that they are in a state of readiness to save time in the response to an emergency. However, we are taking steps to find a solution to that issue without increasing response times to an emergency.”

As Sikes sped down East Central Boulevard, authorities say she sideswiped a silver pickup truck and, in the process, also damaged the ambulance.

Thanks to GPS tracking, Anadarko Police eventually caught up to Sikes a little more than a mile away in front of Physicians Hospital, where she was arrested.

“She was under the influence of some kind of narcotic,” said Harlan. “That could have been a lot worse. It was just a minor incident. So, we’re lucky there.”

According to the Caddo County Sheriff’s Office website, Sikes was booked for the following charges:

• DUI: DRIVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANY OTHER INTOXICATING SUBSTANCE
• LARCENY OF AUTO, AIRCRAFT OR OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE
• LEAVING SCENE OF ACCIDENT INVOLVING DAMAGE
• NO DL