Ambulance hijacked on Harborside Drive

as published in Galveston Daily News
02/09/05
by Scott Williams

Galveston – A Galveston ambulance went on a brief, unauthorized ride Tuesday night.

The ambulance was on Harborside Drive about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday en route to John Sealy Emergency Room, when the driver stopped, as a man was standing in the roadway of the 1900 block, waving his arms, police said.

The man appeared to be “excited and panic-stricken,” said police Lt. D.J. Alvarez, and opened the driver’s door.

“He was saying someone was trying to shoot him,” Alvarez said.

The driver tried to scoot away from the man as he pushed his way in, and ended up outside the vehicle, according to police reports. The man, now in the driver’s seat, closed the door and drove off.

A second paramedic, in the back of the ambulance, yelled at the man to stop, for the sake of the ambulance’s patient, a 59-year-old woman suffering from chest pains.

“The paramedics were a little shaken up, but both did really well, under the circumstances,” Alvarez said. “The paramedic in the back kept the patient as the priority, in a very difficult situation.”

The stranded paramedic radioed police to alert them that the ambulance had been stolen.

Port of Galveston police officer Clemente Garcia Jr., who was in the area, heard the call and saw the ambulance almost immediately, Alvarez said. He drove his patrol car into the ambulance’s path, forcing the stolen emergency vehicle to stop.

“In all, he only made it a few blocks,” Alvarez said.

The man surrendered without incident, as city police officers arrived at the scene, Alvarez said.

James Goodner, 32, was in jail Tuesday, under bonds totaling $300,000. He faces two counts of aggravated kidnapping, each of which carries a possible prison term of five to 99 years. He also faces a charge of theft, which carries a possible prison term of two to 20 years. Each charge also carries a possible fine of up to $10,000.

No one was injured as a result of the ambulance’s hijacking. Emergency crews loaded the woman into a second ambulance at the scene and took her to the hospital, where she was receiving treatment Tuesday night.

As of 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, police had found no evidence of anyone trying to shoot the man.