A Bogalusa man was arrested Sunday, after admitting to stealing an ambulance from the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, according to the Gonzales Police Department.

GPD officials said that Sunday, at approximately 9 a.m., GPD Officer Tyson Dennis observed a Natchitoches Regional Medical Center ambulance at the intersection of Highway 30 and Highway 44 in Gonzales. The ambulance reportedly had extensive damage to the front bumper/grill area, as well as a broken windshield.

Upon closer inspection, Dennis observed that the driver was in civilian clothes. Dennis conducted a traffic stop on the ambulance, due to him not being able to see the attached license plate.

The driver, Clayton Young Florane, 40, of ‪Beall Street in Bogalusa, exited the ambulance and reportedly admitted that he had stolen it from the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. Upon being released from the hospital, Florane stole the ambulance as he needed a ride home, GPD officials said.

Florane was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail for one count of felony possession of stolen goods and one count of driving under suspension.

Contact was made with the Natchitoches Police Department, who advised that the ambulance was stolen from the hospital at approximately 5:30 a.m., and that they were in the process of entering it into the NCIC database and getting a warrant for Florane.

When representatives from the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center arrived in Gonzales to retrieve the ambulance, they advised that a convenience store in Sorrento had information about the ambulance ramming a concrete barrier in their parking lot. The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Department was called to investigate that incident.