Man arrested by OCSO escapes hospital during treatment

OCOEE  – A male suspect arrested in reference to a stolen vehicle was being treated for a dog bite at Health Central Hospital when he escaped authorities.

According to a press release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Adam Phillips, 18, was arrested earlier with the assistance of a K9 officer on Thursday, May 31. No details were provided on whether the suspect's dog bite occurred during the arrest.

Phillips, who is a convicted felon, took the opportunity to escape when medical staff required the suspect's handcuffs be removed for a medical procedure. 

"Once the procedure was completed, the arrestee was sitting in a wheelchair before placing him in handcuffs," the release stated. "The arrestee jumped from the wheelchair and fled out of the hospital northbound across West Colonial Drive and then into the wooded area west of (Clarke) Road."

Orange County deputies and Ocoee police officers began to search for Phillips, who was later located in the restroom of a nearby RaceTrac when law enforcement responded to a panic alarm at the business, the release reads.

The arrestee was returned to Health Central Hospital to complete his medical treatment and will later be transported to the Orange County Jail.