A 23-year-old Dallas man was arrested Tuesday evening after officials say he posed as a physician at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. He then stole an ambulance from Medical City Dallas Hospital attempting to flee the scene only to eventually crash in the ambulance.
Terrance King, 23, has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and evading arrest. He is being held in the Dallas County Jail where his bail has been set at $7,000.
WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported King said he was at Children’s to shadow a doctor but was not able to produce any valid identification. According to a written statement from the hospital, King was escorted out of the building after he was questioned. A police report said the suspect “knows a lot of information about Medical City Hospital.” A spokesperson for Medical City was still gathering information and was not prepared to release a statement but, a spokesperson for Children’s Medical Center Dallas made the following statement.
“A person posing as a physician did enter the Children’s Medical Center Dallas facility. Our staff, following existing security procedures, questioned the person who then left the building. Our entire staff has been notified, and we have also notified DFW area hospitals. We are working closely with the Dallas Police Department. Additional security personnel are currently on the premises and we are continuing to aggressively investigate and monitor the situation.”
Before the arrest, a nurse spotted the intruder and reported him to security. On his way out, he told the nurse the patient he visited “doesn’t have anything going.” When pressed, he began to mumble. According to police, the man was wearing a lab coat printed with the words “Texas Oncology.” He was carrying two pagers and an iPad. He left the facility but then tried unsuccessfully to re-enter through the emergency room.
WFAA reported the ambulance was fleeing police with the emergency lights on when it crashed into a BMW at the corner of Maple and Oak Lawn avenues. King was arrested after a short foot chase Tuesday night when officials posted an all points bulletin stating he stole the ambulance from Medical City Dallas.
King has a previous criminal history that includes theft, driving without a license and credit card abuse. He was also arrested in 2013 for a similar incident involving him posing as a Dallas firefighter at a Plano firehouse according to a published report from The Dallas Morning News .
Read about a similar story from Australia, this time involving a teenager who were arrested after posing as a physician in an article from the Inquisitr.