Use an ambulance, don't pay the bill and face criminal charges. That is what's happening in one Westmoreland County community.
EMS companies all over the area are facing huge debts. Rescue 14 in Adamsburg in Westmoreland County is no different. But the district attorney has signed off on its new groundbreaking method of bill collecting. So far, it's working and the unit has collected thousands of dollars.
Over the years, Rescue 14 Operations Manager Don Thoma tried to get money from patients in civil court, but he said it took too much time and too much money. He came up with the idea to file criminal complaints for theft against them after he heard of another ambulance company doing it.
Target 11's Rick Earle asked him if he ever feels bad about filing charges.
"It's not like I don't care," Thoma said. "It bothers me that they don't care."