A 40-second joyride with an ambulance will cost two Belgians 18 months in prison

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Ambulance Joyride Lands Two Men in U.S. Jail

Antwerp, Belgium — Two young men who treated an ambulance like their personal getaway car were sentenced to 18 months in prison after a brief but reckless joyride in Antwerp.

Caught on dashcam footage, three men are seen casually hopping into an ambulance, flipping on the lights, and speeding off while laughing. The joyride was short-lived, lasting only 40 seconds before the police apprehended them.

"They decided to get into the car and press the accelerator. They drove for 40 seconds, they can now think about that for 18 months," a lawyer for the ambulance company, Vyvex, stated during the trial.

The driver claimed that he felt pressured into the stunt by the other men. He later expressed regret for his actions. The second man insisted that he was unaware the driver would actually take off with the ambulance.

Both admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the incident.

A third individual involved, identified as a minor, was dealt with separately. Released from a juvenile detention center on parole, he avoided formal imprisonment.

The Antwerp court characterized the men’s actions as "widespread anti-social behavior."

In Antwerp, people are bewildered and angered that an ambulance could be taken for a joyride, a situation that could have resulted in serious consequences had someone otherwise benefited from timely medical assistance in those 40 seconds, said Joannes Van De Buys, a local resident