MORGANTOWN — Police have identified an inmate who stole an ambulance from J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and was apprehended a short distance away after crashing it on Friday afternoon.
Craig Allen Martisko, 45, of Granville, is undergoing evaluation at Ruby Memorial Hospital. Numerous charges are pending.
At about 2:30 p.m. Morgantown Police Department officers responded to a report of a stolen ambulance, last seen headed towards W.Va. 705 from Ruby Memorial Hospital, according to a release. The suspect was described as wearing an orange jump suit and handcuffed. A short while later, officers were advised that the suspect wrecked the ambulance near Chateau Royale and was last seen running up the hill from Don Nehlen Drive.
A Morgantown Police Department K-9 Officer arrived on scene and followed into the area the suspect was last observed. Martisko was found at the 2700 building of Chateau Royal, attempting to break into an apartment. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident and was transported back to Ruby Memorial Hospital for examination.
Officers discovered he was in the custody of the West Virginia Department of Corrections North Central Regional Jail and was transported along with three other inmates to Monongalia County for court.
One inmate was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital for treatment, while the other inmates were transported to their hearings. Upon returning to Ruby Memorial to retrieve the inmate from treatment and return him to NCRJ, Martisko was able to escape the prisoner transport van and found an ambulance from Fayette County unsecured.
Martisko stole the ambulance in an attempt to escape custody and drove away from the scene. In the process of making his escape, he collided with a Star City Ambulance, several cars, fixed objects in the area and finally crashed into a utility pole.
Supervisory personnel from the Department of Corrections are in route to the incident at this time and will take custody of the remaining prisoners and return them to their facilities. Officers are continuing to work with other agencies to complete appropriate reports and make appropriate charges because this incident occurred in and out of the municipal city limits of Morgantown.
No one was injured as a result of this incident. The amount of property damaged is still being determined.
