Mike Martindale

The Detroit News

Pontiac — A 51-year-old Pontiac man is in custody and expected to face charges after allegedly stealing an ambulance Sunday for an apparent desperate drive to a topless bar.

The Star ambulance was stolen outside of McLaren Hospital in Pontiac, where attendants had taken a patient on a gurney into the hospital emergency room about 11 p.m. When they went back outside, the ambulance was gone. The ambulance was left with its keys in the ignition and the engine running, investigators said.

The ambulance was tracked by a cellphone left inside by one of the workers, police said. The vehicle was located near 18 Mile and Ryan Road in Sterling Heights, motoring slowly down the street. The driver told police he was headed to the Booby Trap Bar on Eight Mile.

Meanwhile, a phone number to the bar is disconnected. The address to the former site of the Booby Trap matches that of the King of Diamonds strip club.

The Pontiac man is expected to face auto theft charges.

mmartindale@detroitnews.com

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