A walk-in patient at a Southern California hospital believed to have a large population of drug addicts climbed onto the ceiling of the hospital and became stuck, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, police and authorities said.
An intoxicated man entered the emergency room bathroom at San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland Monday night, broke through several ceiling tiles and pulled himself up onto the ceiling.
Police arrived shortly after 9 p.m. “Surveillance footage showed the subject entering the bathroom and not coming out,” the Upland Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.
Police initially couldn't see the man, and he didn't respond to calls from police to see if anyone was there.
“Due to the extremely confined space and maze of electrical wires, plumbing and air conditioning equipment, officers had to use a pole camera to examine the ceiling,” police said.
Police soon found the man trapped between a large air conditioning unit and a steel frame “in complete darkness.”
After police called the man's name, he admitted he was stuck and unable to get out.
Firefighters with the San Bernardino County Fire Department responded and worked for nearly an hour to rescue the man, who authorities have not identified.
video Released by Upland Police Responders can be seen standing on a ladder searching for the man with his head stuck in the ceiling as the Scooby-Doo theme song cheekily plays in the background.
The man was then seen lying on his back in a small space, flailing his arms and legs as rescue workers tried to guide him out.
The footage then shows a police officer grabbing the man's legs sticking out of the ceiling, placing them on his shoulders and slowly guiding him down.
Officials said he caused more than $5,000 in damage to the electrical and air conditioning systems in the ceiling.
The man was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property.
He was taken to the county jail, where police “pointed out the concrete ceiling” to prevent him from planning any new adventures.
Police say emergency room services continued uninterrupted during the bizarre ordeal.
