- You know it’s bad when reporting a crime makes the cops do a double take.
A police department in Wisconsin got such a bizarre emergency call this week that the responders couldn’t believe their ears. They had to ask twice just to make sure they’d heard it right.
A naked man had stolen an ambulance—with a stretcher-bound patient still inside.
Benjamin Feltz was already on the run from the law without a thread on his body when he came across a parked ambulance. Despite the paramedics’ best efforts to prevent him, he jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off.
What followed was a nearly 20-mile chase involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Over his rampage, Feltz plowed through multiple spike mats and other implements meant to stop him, miraculously with no effect.
Finally, the cops were able to force the rogue ambulance off the road and into a muddy field. Although he initially refused to cooperate, Feltz eventually surrendered without incident.
As a silver lining, the patient trapped in the ambulance survived and was taken to a hospital to receive the care they needed. Feltz, meanwhile, is facing a hilariously long list of charges for his antics.
Yet, the strangest part about this whole thing is that it didn’t happen in Florida.
Naked Pushups
This outlandish series of events began on Tuesday, February 17, in the city of Wisconsin Rapids. Initially, though, it didn’t involve an ambulance.
According to the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department (WRPD), Benjamin Weltz was on the run and evading law enforcement officers. We couldn’t find what he had done to earn the cops’ attention, but we’re going to guess it may have had something to do with the fact that he was running around buck naked.
Around 5:30 p.m., Weltz allegedly stopped to do pushups in public, still without any clothes. As you do.
At that point, he noticed an ambulance parked nearby. Two paramedics were attending a health emergency call and had placed the unidentified patient in the back of the ambulance for care.
Feltz saw an opportunity and climbed into the driver’s seat. At that point, the paramedics noticed the unclothed stranger messing with their vehicle.
One paramedic reportedly got out of the ambulance and attempted to get Feltz away from the wheel. He, however, started the engine.
The second paramedic, still in the vehicle, tried to prevent Feltz from taking off, but he was reportedly forced out of the ambulance. With that, Feltz drove off, with the patient still in the back.
Police Chase
The paramedics immediately called for help. When they got through to the emergency responders, though, they had difficulty believing what they were hearing.
“You hear that come over the radio, hey, that someone has stolen an ambulance,” WRPD Police Chief Daniel Hostens told WSAW.
“Your first thought is, did they just say someone stole an ambulance? How does that happen?”
Yet, the cops took the call seriously and sent officers after Feltz. That resulted in a police chase along State Route 73 toward Pittsville that would go on for 18 miles.
With Wood County Sheriff’s Department’s assistance, the WRPD deployed several tire deflation devices to stop Feltz. However, in his naked fury, he plowed through the obstacles without slowing down.
Finally, officers from the Pittsville Police Department, who had come to support their fellow cops, were successful in stopping Feltz. They threw stop sticks on the road that shredded the ambulance’s front tires.
Without being able to control the vehicle, Feltz slid off the road. The ambulance finally came to a stop at a muddy field just west of Pittsfield.
Long List of Offences
With the ambulance stopped, police officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered Feltz to get out. However, he refused to comply, and officers started moving in to pull him out.
Out of “urgent concern” for the trapped patient, the police deployed a camera drone to keep an eye on Feltz in case he got any funny ideas. Fortunately, it seems he was done resisting and surrendered without causing further incident.
“The situation placed our officers in harm’s way, placed the civilians who were on the roadway in harm’s way, placed the individual in the back of the ambulance in harm’s way, as well as the individual who took the ambulance,” Chief Hostens said.
“It was handled very well by our officers, as well as those neighboring jurisdictions that stepped in to assist us,” he commended the attending officers.
The patient was luckily not hurt during the incident, and their condition hadn’t gotten worse. According to news reports, the person was quickly taken to a hospital for further treatment.
For his part, Feltz had been booked into Wood County Jail. According to the local district attorney’s office, he is facing charges for:
- Disorderly Conduct
- Lewd and Lascivious Behavior
- Operating a Motor Vehicle Without the Owner’s Consent
- Obstructing Emergency Personnel
- Recklessly Endangering Safety
- Threats to Law Enforcement
- Operating While Intoxicated (his third such offense)
That’s quite the list. As a silver lining, nobody was hurt. As serious as this incident was, it could’ve easily taken a much darker turn.
Somehow, being naked in public and stealing vehicles just go hand in hand. Check out this story of a nude Pennsylvania guy who stole a school bus to transport a dead deer.