RISKAlert Report Updated: March 14, 2018
Ambulance thief, Danny Lee Konieczny, 60, was drunk and suicidal when First Responders picked him
up after a neighbor called 911. He was transported to The Villages Regional Hospital, where
he waited two hours in the Emergency Department without seeing a doctor.
Frustrated and angry, he decided to steal the ambulance to drive the 5.7 miles to his home,
according to the arrest affidavit! He walked outside and stole a Sumter EMS Ambulance, which was
owned by Rural/Metro and equipped with a GPS tracking device. Rural/Metro personnel were able
to see the theft of the ambulance on a live feed and so deputies followed the GPS to Konieczny’s home.
The suspect had parked the ambulance in the neighbor’s 
driveway, and then hid in the trunk of his car, where
officers found him and arrested him. Konieczny is now
facing a felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle
following the arrest by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies.
“He was upset because he was just put in the hallway
to wait and was not being seen at the hospital,” the
deputy wrote in the arrest report. The ambulance was
recovered intact and returned to Rural/Metro.
LESSONS LEARNED:
- Ambulance theft is relatively common but easy to prevent. Experts recommend
making sure to turn off the engine and lock all ambulance doors. - There are keypad systems that can be installed to prevent someone from driving away in
an ambulance, when the engine has been left running.
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