Bluffton woman jailed for allegedly stealing ambulance from Hilton Head hospital
A Bluffton woman was charged over the weekend with stealing a private ambulance from Hilton Head Island’s hospital after her discharge from the facility earlier this month.
Sharwayne Vimilia Miller, 30, was charged Saturday with felony grand larceny and failure to stop for police, according to inmate records.
Miller allegedly entered the MedTrust ambulance and drove off the evening of Dec. 2 as the vehicle sat outside the emergency room of Novant Health Hilton Head Medical Center. An employee for the private ambulance company said he left the vehicle unlocked with the keys in the ignition as he took a patient inside.
A Beaufort County deputy briefly tried to chase the suspect on U.S. 278 but stopped because of traffic conditions and Miller’s “erratic driving,” according to a police report.
Instead, police used a tire deflation device to stop the ambulance as it headed south on Squire Pope Road. The approximately 5-mile joyride lasted about 10 minutes.
Miller had reportedly just been released from the hospital on north-end Hilton Head that evening after she was brought in by her family for an evaluation. A witness overheard her asking how she would get home before Miller was seen climbing into the ambulance and driving away.
After police removed her from the stolen ambulance, Miller was readmitted to the hospital, which delayed her arrest for the alleged theft.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol had already charged her with failing to stop after an alleged hit-and-run in the ambulance near Gumtree Road. She was also accused of reckless driving and driving under suspension. All three of her SCHP offenses, as well as failure to stop for police, are misdemeanors.
Miller remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Monday afternoon. She was granted cash bonds totaling $15,000, according to judicial records.
Beaufort County court records show Miller has a number of criminal convictions dating back to 2018, including drug offenses, resisting arrest, threatening the life of a public official, driving under the influence and second-degree burglary.
Her grand larceny charge carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years because the value of the alleged stolen property is more than $10,000. A MedTrust executive valued the ambulance and its contents at about $70,000 and told police the company wished to pursue charges against Miller.
