8/28/26 Phoenix, AZ – Woman Steals Phoenix Fire Department Ambulance From Medical Call – Crashes Into Pick Up – Arrested for DUI

Firefighters responding to an emergency call in Phoenix encountered a problem that had nothing to do with the reason they were originally dispatched.

While the crew was away from its ambulance late Thursday night, police say a woman climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away with it.

She did not get far without creating another emergency. The ambulance later crashed into a pickup truck several miles away, and Phoenix police say the woman showed signs of impairment when officers took her into custody.

Police booked her on suspicion of DUI and theft of means of transportation. Her identity had not been released as of Friday morning. Arizona’s Family reported that police had not yet identified her publicly.

An Ambulance Disappears

Phoenix police said firefighters were responding to a call at a business near 83rd Avenue and Encanto Boulevard at about 11 p.m. Thursday.

The Phoenix Fire ambulance was parked nearby, and the keys had been left inside while the firefighters handled the call.

Police say the woman got behind the wheel and drove away.

That detail also answers one question raised after the story began circulating online: the ambulance was already at an emergency call before the woman allegedly took it. The available police account does not establish that she was the patient, the person who called for help, or otherwise connected to that original call.

Another Emergency

The stolen ambulance later crashed into a pickup truck near 75th Avenue and Osborn Road, according to police.

Arizona’s Family said its crew saw a man being placed onto a stretcher after the crash. Police told the station he was not seriously hurt.

Officers arrived and took the woman into custody. Police said she showed signs of impairment before she was booked into jail on suspicion of DUI and theft of means of transportation.

FOX 10 Phoenix also reported that police had not released the woman’s name as of Friday morning.

Why Leave It Running?

One detail quickly became a point of debate online: Why would an ambulance be left with its keys inside?

There is no publicly available information establishing Phoenix Fire’s specific procedure in this incident, so it would be premature to say the crew was following or violating department policy.

Leaving an ambulance running during a call, however, is not unusual across emergency medical services.

A recent study of ambulance idling practices found EMS personnel cited several operational reasons for keeping ambulances running, including powering onboard electronics, preventing battery drain, maintaining climate control, and avoiding the possibility that a vehicle will fail to restart when it is needed for transport or another emergency.

The practice comes with an obvious tradeoff: an unattended running ambulance can become a theft target.

Different EMS agencies handle that risk differently. Okaloosa County EMS in Florida, for example, permits ambulances to remain running during assignments in certain weather conditions to maintain an acceptable temperature inside, but requires the vehicle to be locked.

Other agencies use anti-theft equipment that lets an ambulance continue running while preventing an unauthorized person from driving it. Boston EMS policy, for example, requires anti-theft devices to be engaged when an unattended vehicle must remain running and is equipped with such a system.

Whether the Phoenix ambulance involved Thursday night had such a system, or why its keys remained accessible, has not been publicly explained.

Phoenix police said the investigation remains ongoing.