Lakeland man accused of crashing into ambulance and bolting found sleeping on couch: PCSO

A Lakeland man is facing charges after deputies say he was involved in a hit-and-run crash with an ambulance.

admin July 1, 2026 2 minutes read

LAKELAND, Fla. – A Lakeland man is facing charges after deputies say he was involved in a hit-and-run crash with an ambulance.

Lakeland ambulance collision

What we know:

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the ambulance was traveling north on Harden Boulevard (not in emergency mode) when a southbound white VW Jetta made a U-turn in front of the ambulance.

After completing the U-turn, investigators say the Jetta entered the ambulance’s lane, and the vehicles collided.

The Jetta did not stop following the crash, and left the scene, according to PCSO.

Investigators said a paramedic who was riding in the back of the ambulance was transported to the hospital with a minor neck injury.

Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office went to the residence where the VW Jetta is registered. That’s where they said the car’s owner said her nephew, 41-year-old Gregory McManus, had been driving it.

McManus was asleep on the couch and when deputies woke him up, they said he admitted that he had been involved in the crash, but claimed it was the ambulance driver’s fault.

Gregory McManus is accused of crashing into an ambulance and fleeing. Image is courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Unresolved crash details

What we don’t know:

It remains unclear if any additional passengers were inside either vehicle at the time of the collision.

Sheriff statement on arrest

What they’re saying:

“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,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated. “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.”

Legal consequences following hit-and-run

What’s next:

McManus is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injury and resisting without violence. Sheriff Judd noted that McManus has a prior criminal history in Massachusetts.