TAMPA, Fla. — A 43-year-old man is behind bars after troopers said he led them on a pursuit in a stolen ambulance in Tampa.

Michael J. Esquilin was hit with numerous charges, including burglary of an emergency vehicle, Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release. The chase happened around 8:28 p.m. Saturday after troopers received reports of a stolen Tampa Fire Rescue ambulance from HCA South Tampa Hospital.

FHP troopers were reportedly able to find the ambulance after 10 minutes on South Esperanza Avenue and West Bay to Bay Boulevard. Esquilin allegedly took off after FHP attempted a traffic stop, kicking off a pursuit that lasted for several miles.

Troopers said Esquilin ran several stop signs, drove on the wrong side of the road, and “nearly collided with several other motorists.” 

“At the intersection of South Hubert Avenue and West Empedrado Street, the driver came to a stop and finished drinking a beer in full view of Troopers,” FHP stated in the news release.

Esquilin reportedly tightly held on to the steering wheel while troopers and Tampa Police Department officers tried to get him out of the stolen ambulance. After he was arrested, the 43-year-old law enforcement that he had been drinking for the past two days and stole the ambulance after he was “denied a ride home in the vehicle by emergency personnel.”

In addition to burglary of an emergency vehicle, Esquilin has been charged with the following:

• Grand Theft of an Emergency Vehicle
• Fleeing & Eluding
• Driving While License Suspended
•  DUI and Resisting Arrest