FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — A Fort Myers Beach woman was arrested by Lee County deputies for stealing an ambulance from a children's hospital early Thursday morning.
Ariel Marchan-Le Quire, 30, was arrested following a lengthy chase with multiple deputies, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The ambulance was reportedly empty with no patients inside.
The chase began after deputies received reports of a stolen ambulance at Golisano Children's Hospital, the sheriff's office said. Marchan-Le Quire was reportedly tracked down via GPS and confronted at a gas station on Summerlin Road before she took off in the ambulance.
Deputies pursuing Marchan-Le Quire said she drove recklessly, swerving across lanes, hitting curbs and even nearly flipping over the ambulance at one point. She reportedly pulled over, but as soon as deputies approached the vehicle, she sped off while turning on the emergency lights.
The sheriff's office said deputies disengaged from Marchan-Le Quire while their helicopter continued to track her whereabouts. She was eventually spotted in the middle of South Tamiami Trail and Island Park Road on U.S. Highway 41 as deputies closed in.
Marchan-Le Quire was removed from the ambulance and arrested by deputies. She is now charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash, resisting an officer, fleeing and eluding and theft of emergency equipment, according to the sheriff's office.
"You could've killed somebody, ma'am," a deputy can be heard telling Marchan-Le Quire while handcuffing her in bodycam video.
This reportedly isn't the 30-year-old's first brush with the law. Deputies say Marchan-Le Quire's criminal history spans multiple states, including battery, resisting and vehicle theft charges.
No injuries or damage to other vehicles were reported in this incident, according to the sheriff's office.
