Hospital patient in medical gown, IV in arm steals ambulance: Fairfax County police
ANNANDALE, Va. - Authorities are searching for a hospital patient they say stole an ambulance while still wearing a medical gown and with an IV still attached to his arm.
The incident was reported around 9:30 p.m. Monday after police recovered the vehicle in a parking lot in the 4200 block of Annandale Road in Fairfax County.
Hospital patient in medical gown, IV in arm steals ambulance: Fairfax County police (Fairfax County Police / @FairfaxCountyPD)
Officers say the man who stole the ambulance was a passenger in a crash on U.S. Route 50 in Virginia earlier in the day. Five people, including the suspect, were hospitalized. Investigators believe the vehicle was stolen from a home in Manassas around 8:30 a.m. and crashed at the ramp to Interstate 66 near Fair Oaks Mall. Investigators say they seized two firearms and narcotics from the stolen vehicle.
READ MORE: Stolen car crash on US Route 50 in Virginia sends 5 to hospital, rifle recovered
FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick says police identified the man as 32-year-old Rickey Ramone Lowe, and say he was receiving treatment at Inova Fairfax Hospital Monday night when he walked away with an IV in his arm before being discharged, jumped into the private transport ambulance, and drove off.
They describe him as weighing 300 pounds with a shaved head and tattoos on his arms. Detectives released an image of Lowe wearing a medical gown behind the wheel of the vehicle. They also say Lowe was accused of firing a weapon into the air at a Manassas hotel last September in an unrelated incident.
Lt. James Curry with the Fairfax County Police Dept. said Lowe, who was initially not being treated at the hospital as a suspect, now faces charges of grand larceny related to the ambulance theft.
"Certainly the investigation of the stolen vehicle, the crash with the narcotics and firearms…that’s still under investigation and the possibility of additional charges for the occupants continue," Lt. Curry said.
Curry added that he’s confident detectives will locate the suspect.
"We’re really fortunate. We have detectives from our Fugitive, Track, and Apprehension Unit. This is what they do every single day," he said. "When individuals commit crimes in our community and county, they find them. They’re very good at finding them. I have no doubt, it will be a matter of time before their efforts lead us to where he is. Anybody that sees him, I would imagine he’s [Lowe] not in a hospital gown and probably removed that IV from his arm, but certainly give us a call if you see him. We’ll take him into custody."
Anyone with information on Lowe's whereabouts is asked to contact police.