Mesa man allegedly stole ambulance because it was ‘too hot to walk’

PHOENIX — A man was arrested in Mesa on Tuesday for allegedly stealing an ambulance following a heat-related hospital visit because he “thought it was too hot to walk home.”

The Mesa Police Department said 37-year-old Todd Tanner Shell had just been released from Banner Desert Hospital near Southern Avenue and Dobson Road for a heat-related situation when he noticed an ambulance.

The ambulance, which was being used by a crew dropping off a patient, was running near the hospital.

Shell told police that he decided to take the ambulance “so he wouldn’t have to walk.”

The ambulance was first spotted by officers when it was driving eastbound on the U.S. 60. It was not driving faster than normal, police said.

Shell then pulled off the freeway and eventually stopped near Val Vista and University.

He told police he wanted to buy a sandwich, but needed to go home and get some money first. Shell insisted that he intended to return the ambulance.

The ambulance was not damaged.

Police said Shell was arrested on one count of unlawful use of means of transportation and one count of unlawful flight from law enforcement.

The day of Shell’s alleged crime occurred on the hottest day of the year in Phoenix. Phoenix recorded a high temperature of 116 degrees on Tuesday, tying the 2014 record.

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