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Transport van used to take elderly to, from hospital stolen from Volusia County parking lot
A transport van was stolen from a business that transports elderly people to and from doctor's appointments and other places.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - A company that transports elderly people to and from the hospital says one of their vans was stolen from their parking lot Tuesday morning.
Now it's asking the community for help to spot it on the streets.
An employee with First Care Transport in Deltona walked out to their parking lot to find the window of one of the vans smashed, and its dash-camera destroyed.
"They screwed a screw inside, and it broke off," said Vincent Formoso the company's manager. "We assume they were trying to pull out the ignition."
That was before they noticed another van was missing.
The company believes thieves were able to hot-wire the van and ditch its GPS tracker.
The vans are mostly used to bring elderly people to doctor's appointments and home from the emergency room.
It could take months to outfit a new van, and the owners say it's already having a big impact.
"It’s a high demand," Formoso said. "People need to go to the hospital and there’s not enough supply, so right now it absolutely puts a big dent in our business."
According to a police report, the stolen van and all the equipment inside is worth $65,000.
The company is surprised thieves chose their van in a parking lot full of other cars.
"We’ve been in business since 2007, never had any theft of any kind anywhere, so this is actually a very big shock to us," Formoso said.
Formoso says no one was around to see the suspects, and they weren't caught on camera.
"It’s very scary, Formoso said. "We don’t know, could they be armed? We’re thankful that none of our guys got hurt."
First Care has reported the theft to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, but it's also asking people to be on the lookout or a van with the company's name, and the number 18 on it.