According to Lt. Patrick Fortenberry of the Greer PD, officers responded at 11:25 a.m. Wednesday to a reported suspicious person acting strangely and banging on the front door of a residence on Tryon Street. The occupant told officers the man had walked around to the rear of the house.
Officers found Jamario Marquis Bowens, 35, who lives in Greenville, under the house and appeared to be under the influence of some type of narcotics. Greer PD officers asked for EMS to respond, Fortenberry reported.
EMS personnel provided medical assistance to Bowens. When EMS personnel placed Bowens on a gurney and loaded him into the back of the ambulance, Greer officers left the scene, according to Fortenberry.
Bowens became combative and struck one EMS worker in the face with his fist and kicked the worker in the back, causing visible injury, as she attempted to treat him in the ambulance, according to Fortenberry. The two EMS workers feared for their safety and abandoned the ambulance, Fortenberry reported.
The EMS staff contacted Greer police for emergency assistance as they created distance between themselves and Bowens.
Bowens got in the driver’s seat and drove away within the city. Fortenberry reported the stolen vehicle crossed over Buncombe Road onto Hood Road. Officers, still in pursuit, observed the ambulance being driven through a field before crossing over South Suber Road and coming to a stop after striking a utility pole. The ambulance was reportedly valued at $220,000.
Bowens was then taken into custody, provided medical care by Greenville County EMS, and transported to the emergency room. He remained in the hospital late Wednesday night.
This was a single-vehicle collision, and Bowens did not sustain any known injuries due to the crash, according to Fortenberry.
Bowens was charged with:
• carjacking / take or attempt a vehicle by force without great bodily harm,
• larceny, grand larceny value $10,000 or more serving process or making
• assault / assault and battery 1st degree • resisting / resisting arrest. Oppose or resist law enforcement
• DUI / first offense • Reckless driving
The Greer PD continues to investigate this incident.