Delivery van with woman, 25 pints of blood inside stolen from hospital

A man stole CLEVELAND — a delivery van from MetroHealth early Wednesday with a woman and 25 pints of blood inside, police said.

The theft happened about 2:30 a.m. A delivery driver from Bonnie Speed Delivery Services pulled into the hospital and left the van running while he made the delivery, police said.

A woman was in the backseat and the blood was inside the back of the van, police said.

A man jumped into the van and drove off. The man drove to Willowick, where the woman convinced the thief to stop, according to police.

The man pulled off, got out of the van and walked away. The woman drove the van back to Cleveland to meet with police. She was not harmed, according to police. Nothing was stolen from inside the van.

Willowick police later found the man sleeping behind a home where he stopped, police said. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on during the theft, which was recorded by surveillance cameras, according to police.

He will be taken back to the Second District police station, where detectives will interview him, according to police.

It’s the latest in a string of thefts against workers in company vehicles.

Five workers from various companies, including television repair companies, delivery drivers and utility workers, have been robbed at gunpoint in Cleveland since Feb. 20.

A Spectrum cable company employee was shot while on a house call in Cleveland on Jan. 24. He survived but the company since hired off-duty Cleveland police officers to accompany the employees on house calls.