Man steals hearse with dead body during funeral to drive himself to hospital

           A man was arrested after allegedly stealing a hearse with a dead body during a funeral to drive himself to a hospital, police in Australia said.

New South Wales Police said that Hayley West and her husband Tobias Richardson, were preparing for the funeral of her brother-in-law Seth Richardson, at a school building in Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Thursday morning when the suspect stole the hearse.

When they were talking to one of the funeral directors in the lobby, the 49-year-old man jumped out of the bushes, got into the hearse and drove off.

Richardson got into his own car to chase the thief as West called the police. After a few minutes, Richardson was able to use his car to block the suspect from driving further away.

When the suspect was asked what he was doing, he simply said: “I need to go to the hospital.” Police arrested the man who suffers from dementia.

West said that the funeral service continued as planned.