Shirtless man carjacks west Harris County ambulance, company asks for help

A west Harris County ambulance was carjacked after medics stopped to fuel up near 11 p.m. Saturday, July 4, leaving a company vehicle that carries medication, a stretcher and expensive equipment out of service. Progressive Ambulance Service LLC manager Amadou Diallo said the theft disrupted patient transport and could have had wider consequences if the ambulance had been needed for a scheduled ride or another urgent run.

ABC13 video showed a shirtless man walking around the front of the ambulance, climbing into the driver’s seat and driving away before a medic could stop him. Diallo said two medics had taken separate ambulances to a nearby gas station when they were confronted by the man. He said the suspect grabbed the fuel nozzle and appeared to try to use it against one of the medics before moving back toward the vehicle and taking off.

Diallo said the medics made the right call by not physically confronting the suspect, because their first duty was to protect themselves and avoid making the situation worse. The ambulance’s GPS tracked it to the Tanglewild area before the signal was turned off. Houston police said the case remained open and active, and ABC13 later reported that the ambulance was found and placed in storage.

Progressive Ambulance Service LLC is a Houston-based private land-transport ambulance provider registered in the NPI system since May 2012. Houston Health Department records show the company appears on the city’s permitted ambulance service provider lists, and its listed Houston address is 6440 Hillcroft St. in the west and southwest Houston area.

The theft landed in a part of emergency care that many residents rarely see: private ambulances that handle non-emergency transport, not 911 calls. The City of Houston EMS program says private ambulances are permitted only for non-emergency trips and must have permits, driver permits and inspections. When one of those vehicles is stolen, it can take a working transport unit, and the equipment inside it, out of circulation in seconds.

The incident also comes amid a string of ambulance thefts around Houston. In June 2025, a man stole an ambulance near Ben Taub Hospital and led police on a roughly 30-minute chase before his arrest. In February 2023, another Houston ambulance theft began with a different vehicle being stolen and ended in a police pursuit. On July 6, 2026, Fox 26 Houston and Click2Houston reported another northwest Harris County case in which a man allegedly stole a private ambulance with a medic inside.