Hot pursuit: Vidalia woman led law enforcement on chase in stolen ambulance

Published 8:11 pm Saturday, March 12, 2022

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MONROE, La. — A Vidalia woman stole an ambulance and led Monroe Police on an hour-long chase before being arrested early Saturday, officials said.

According to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Whitney Paige Turner, 27, led law enforcement on a pursuit for over an hour.

A Monroe Police Department officer was dispatched in response to a call for a stolen ambulance Friday at 9:01 p.m. At that time, Turner was determined to be the driver of an ambulance stolen from Ochsner’s  and was identified as not having a license to drive an ambulance.

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According to the arrest report, the first responding officer activated audible and visual signals in his marked police vehicle, and Turner took off going 65 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. The report states she drove over a concrete embankment on Desiard Street and began traveling eastbound in a westbound lane, which forced motorists off the road.

The report states she then drove southbound on Louisiana 165 and went 80 mph in a 50 mph zone. She then traveled eastbound on I-20 at 100 mph in a 60 mph zone.

Law enforcement apprehended Turner on Louisiana 913 and US 425 in Peck.

She is charged with the introduction of contraband into a penal institute, possession of Schedule I, operating an ambulance without a license, aggravated flight from an officer, and theft of a motor vehicle. Her bond was set at $22,000.