LAKELAND, Fla. – A Lakeland traffic accident turned into a criminal arrest Tuesday morning after a driver struck an ambulance transporting a patient and then fled the area.
The incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. on June 30, 2026, on Harden Boulevard near the intersection of Ariana Street. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the ambulance was traveling north on Harden Boulevard and was not operating in emergency mode at the time of the collision.
A white Volkswagen Jetta traveling south conducted a U-turn directly in front of the oncoming ambulance. After completing the turn, the Jetta entered the lane occupied by the ambulance, causing the two vehicles to collide. The driver of the Jetta did not stop after the impact and left the scene.
A paramedic who was riding in the back of the ambulance suffered a minor neck injury and was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Deputies tracked the Volkswagen Jetta to its registered address, where the vehicle’s owner stated that her nephew had been driving the car. Inside the home, deputies found 41-year-old Gregory McManus asleep on a couch.
When deputies woke McManus up, he admitted to being involved in the crash but claimed that the ambulance driver was the one at fault. However, investigators reviewed video footage captured by the ambulance’s onboard camera system, which clearly showed that McManus caused the collision.
McManus was arrested and taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center. Deputies noted that he became uncooperative and rude during the transport, eventually refusing to exit the patrol car once they arrived at the processing facility.
“Gregory McManus not only caused the crash, he fled from the scene without checking on anybody, and then had the audacity to claim the other driver was at fault. He was vulgar and rude to the deputy and had to be removed from the patrol car after he refused to get out of it. I doubt there is a responsible bone in his body,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
McManus has been charged with Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Injury, a third-degree felony, and Resisting without Violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
READ: Byron Donalds Lands Major Endorsement From Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
