VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WABY) – The mother of a man accused of stealing an ambulance in Virginia Beach said her son was struggling with his mental health at the time of the incident.
Stephanie Allman, the mother of 33-year-old Christopher Allman, contacted 10 On Your Side from her home in Texas after seeing our coverage of the stolen ambulance in Virginia Beach. I did.
According to police, the pursuit of the stolen ambulance began around 7pm on Tuesday. Officers used spike stripes to stop the emergency vehicle.
Christopher Allman was arrested and charged with fleeing police, criminal damage to property, grand larceny, theft, false identification to a police officer, impersonating a public peace officer, tampering with and destruction of an ambulance, setting an emergency alarm system and improperly braking. has been indicted for.
“Honestly, I just can't believe it,” Stephanie Allman said. “You know, that's not what he does.”
She said her son, who is struggling with his mental health, is behind the video.
“He's been battling addiction and depression and things like that for a very long time,” Stephanie said.
She lives in Texas, but said she hasn't had much contact with her son since he moved to Virginia Beach.
Stephanie Allman thought she was receiving treatment.
“An entirely different police officer came to pick him up and I could tell he needed help,” she said. “His condition was so bad that he was taken to the emergency room.”
At some point, she said, he left.
Christopher Allman could explain to her why.
“All he can tell me is that he was getting very paranoid because people were coming after him,” his mother said. “He thought people were trying to kill him and people were coming after him, so he ran out the door.”
Christopher Allman is named as a defendant on the bail determination checklist. Court documents say the ambulance was stolen and left at a high rate of speed.
The crime situation on the checklist states: “The defendant wore a paramedic uniform instead of the defendant's name, lost traction multiple times, crashed into a hotel, set off a fire alarm at the hospital, and was responsible for multiple hypothetical incidents in LEO. He gave his name.''
“He was scared and desperate and didn't know where to turn,” Stephanie Allman said.
His mother is frustrated that the hospital didn't make sure he got the care he needed. She said he was being treated at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.
“…The hospital, they let him down,” she said. “They failed him…so it's very disappointing when you think you're going to get help and end up in a much worse situation.”
A Sentara spokesperson said: “We cannot detain patients without a magistrate or court order and police assistance.” Even if a patient or family member speaks to the press, it does not relieve us from our privacy obligations under HIPAA. ”
Stephanie Allman admits her son will pay the price for his actions. She hopes he gets help along the way.
