Florida man accused of stealing ambulance

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A patient lost his patience and stole an ambulance, according to the Lake County Sheriffs Office. Investigators said this all went down Tuesday night at The Villages Hospital in The Villages, Florida.

"I've been doing this for 21 years in Lake County. I think it's the first I heard of this," said Sgt. Fred Jones. 

Deputies said the trouble all started earlier in the day at the home of Danny Konieczny, in Lady Lake. A neighbor called 911 reporting that Konieczny was drunk and suicidal.  First responders showed up and took him to the hospital.  

The arrest affidavit says Konieczny admitted to police he got mad after waiting two hours to see a doctor, so he decided to walk out and drive an ambulance home.

"You're taken to the hospital, because you're drunk and now you're in the ambulance you've just stolen to go back ot your house. This could have been bad," said Sgt. Jones.  

The drive from the hospital to Konieczny's home is 5.7 miles.  Investigators said they found Konieczny hiding in the trunk of his car, inside the his garage.  

According to the arrest affidavit, instead of parking the ambulance in his own driveway, the suspect admitted to parking it across the street in his neighbor's driveway, because he was mad at those neighbors, thinking they were the ones who called the police on him earlier.

Investigators said, before stealing the ambulance, the Konieczny said he looked in the back to make sure no one was in there. 

Investigators say the judge put Konieczny on no bond status, because he is still on probation from a 2017 drunk driving charge.