The Brief
- Deputies arrested a man after a reckless Hillsborough County ambulance crash in Ruskin left significant damage to utility infrastructure.
- Authorities say the suspect repeatedly tried to force his way into the emergency vehicle before intentionally ramming it on Thursday night.
- The crash forced the ambulance carrying a female patient off the road, knocking out multiple utility boxes and a utility pole.
RUSKIN, Fla. – A man is facing multiple charges after deputies said he targeted and intentionally caused an ambulance carrying a patient to crash in Ruskin late Thursday evening.
What led up to the ambulance crash?
What we know:
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested Johnny Arman, 35, after the violent confrontation that began at a Ruskin home just before 11 p.m. on Thursday. Deputies said first responders with HCFR responded to a medical call at the home, and while they were providing emergency care to a female patient, Arman, who was also at the home, started becoming hostile towards the first responders.
Despite HCFR crews telling Arman to stay back, the suspect repeatedly tried to force his way into the ambulance and interfere with paramedics, according to HCSO. After the ambulance left the home with the patient, Arman got into his vehicle and started following the ambulance toward the hospital.
Deputies said Arman used his vehicle to block the ambulance’s path before accelerating directly toward it on Upper Creek Drive near Galen Court. The ambulance driver tried avoiding a crash, but Arman’s vehicle hit the ambulance, forcing it off the road and into multiple utility boxes and a utility pole, according to investigators.
Two HCFR paramedics and the patient were in the ambulance at the time of the crash, according to the sheriff’s office.
What we don’t know:…