Police: Female Prisoner Escapes From Long Island Hospital, Steals Ambulette Before Crashing It

A Shirley woman escaped from police custody at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown Thursday evening, stole an ambulette and then led police on a pursuit before crashing the ambulette into another vehicle, police said.

According to police, Melina Silsbe, 24, was brought to the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge after she was arrested Wednesday for numerous misdemeanor warrants and a felony warrant.

A short time later, Silsbe was transported to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center and admitted for a medical condition, which required a police officer to be assigned to guard her, police said.

On Thursday at about 6 p.m., Silsbe was able to slip out of restraints and flee from the hospital by stealing an ambulette that was unoccupied and running in front of the main entrance of the hospital, police said.

The ambulette, owned by a private company, had a GPS tracker on it that allowed police to quickly locate it, ABC 7 reported.

Silsbe led officers on a pursuit on Jericho Turnpike through Commack and onto the Sunken Meadow Parkway, where she eventually crashed into another vehicle, police said.

Silsbe was arrested and transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where she was treated for minor injuries and released. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

In addition to the charges from her arrest on Wednesday, Silsbe is now also charged with second degree escape, fourth degree grand larceny, fourth degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, second degree reckless endangerment and unlawful fleeing from a police officer. She is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday.

Silsbe’s escape comes a week after a similar incident in West Islip in which prisoner allegedly attacked a police officer and then fled from Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, causing a brief lock-out at West Islip schools before the man was captured about an hour later.