Comments on: Stolen Ambulance Crashes Into Chiropractor’s Office on Church Street Just North of Decatur

By: DrB

DrB — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 19:23:26 +0000

I was wondering that … did the driver know how to turn on the siren? If you are going to steal an ambulance, at least have that minor thrill along the way …

By: WalterM

WalterM — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:21:11 +0000

I saw the DeKalb firefighters strapping off the front of the house after the ambulance was pulled out. Initially they shored it up with some 2×4′s and straps. Later that evening the part that overhung the front porch was simply cut off and now sits on the front yard.

The wrecker dragged the ambulance out of the building, up the hill, and onto Church Street. The front end was mangled, but from the front wheel wells back it looked better than I was expecting. It was sturdy enough the guy who stole it was able to hop out and make a run for it and the two paramedics suffered one broken collar bone between them.

I’m also amazed people weren’t hurt considering this guy stole the ambulance at Emory Hospital and ran red lights all the way down Clifton and North Decatur before turning down Church Street. A firefighter at the scene said the guy blew through the Scott/North Decatur/Medlock intersection. Maybe had the siren going.and that got him through.

By: tiptoe

tiptoe — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:19:04 +0000

Laugh it up fuzzball. You guys can crack jokes if you want but this could easily have been much more serious than it already was. Imagine if he’d run up on the sidewalk at any point and hit some pedestrians. Or crossed the lane and hit some oncoming cars. This is so close to Glenlake pool which I’m sure had plenty of visitors on a Saturday afternoon. I’m so glad he ran into a business and not a house (though I’m sorry for Sandy Chiropractic!). I am amazed more people were not hurt.

Oh, and AHID–the AJC reported that the ambulance was a total loss.

By: At Home in Decatur

At Home in Decatur — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:48:31 +0000

The pictures and video over on Patch are impressive. The part that impresses me is that the crashed building was still standing while the ambulance was lodged inside. It must have just fallen apart once the ambulance was backed out and no longer supporting it. Makes me wonder, if the ambulance had stayed, could the building have been shored up around it and then repaired? Of course, the ambulance was probably needed and couldn’t stay there as a prop. Speaking of the ambulance, how did it fare? The pictures seem to suggest that it was studier than the structures it hit.

By: WalterM

WalterM — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:38:14 +0000

I was home when it happened and heard the crashes. My townhouse’s driveway is directly across from the chiropractor’s office. I ran around the house trying to figure out what had happened since it sounded like three mirrors had fallen in close succession. Saturday plans changed rather suddenly since our driveway was blocked off for about six hours.

The two paramedics came out of it okay, although one has a broken collarbone. In the end, lots of property damage but nobody seriously hurt.

By: brianc

brianc — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:43:49 +0000

They actually filmed much of the original in (unincorporated) Decatur back in the early 80s. I remember seeing Farrah Fawcett at Midway Park, where they filmed a scene inside an… ambulance.

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:20:50 +0000

By: lumpintheroad

lumpintheroad — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 03:46:56 +0000

“Cannonball Run VII” — In theaters next summer!