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OGDEN — A motel wasn’t expecting a visit from the paramedics Tuesday night or who turned out to be behind the wheel of the truck.
Western Colony Inn manager Mike Morgan said he was helping a customer when the paramedic truck belonging to Ogden City Fire Department pulled into the parking lot.
“I look out and here’s this paramedic rescue van that’s out there and just, ‘whoa!’” he said.
Morgan said something didn’t seem right. The paramedics didn't get out of the vehicle and whoever was inside began to play with the truck’s loud speaker and siren.
It turns out, something wasn’t right; there were no paramedics inside the truck at all.
Ogden Police detectives said a woman later identified as Jamie Blair hopped into the truck and drove off as first responders were busy with a call in the 2300 block of Madison Ave.
“She’s always walking up and down the street,” said neighbor David Youman, who recognized the woman from her subsequent booking photo. “Usually she’s just talking to herself.”
Instead, police said the woman drove the truck to the Western Colony Inn, where somebody spotted the out-of-place emergency vehicle and called it into dispatch.
Officers arrived within about 10 minutes of the truck showing up in the parking lot, Morgan said.
“Next thing I know, I have a boatload of cops in the parking lot,” he said.
Surveillance video from the business showed officers removing Blair peacefully from the truck and taking her into custody. Police said Blair was booked into the Weber County Jail on suspicion of theft and DUI.
“I know it’s not hilarious, but to me, it was hilarious someone was able to do that,” Morgan said. "I’ve never had anything like that happen before, and I’ve worked motels for 16 years."
Deputy Fire Chief Eric Bauman said the department was investigating the incident internally.
