A man has been sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison for stealing an ambulance from paramedics who had been treating him and leading police on a chase that ended in a crash, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said today.
Mohamed Ali-Majad Zahr, 21, pleaded no contest Thursday to one count each of carjacking and evading arrest, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Paramedics were treating Zahr on Oct. 19 in downtown Los Angeles when he unbuckled himself from a gurney in the ambulance and ran away, according to Deputy District Attorney Michael Dean.
Zahr approached a nearby Toyota Camry, tried to get inside, then ran back to the ambulance after the female motorist honked the car’s horn, authorities said.
Paramedics jumped out of the ambulance’s back compartment as Zahr drove away, authorities said.
Police, as well as a fire captain, chased the ambulance until Zahr crashed it into a minivan near Beverly Boulevard and Union Place, authorities said.
Two people were injured in the crash.
