Hospital 'walk-in' climbs into ceiling, gets stuck on HVAC

A man believed to be under the influence of drugs crawled into the ceiling of a Southern California hospital earlier this week and then was unable to get back out.

Police were called to San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland around 9 p.m. Monday regarding a man who broke through some of the emergency room ceiling tiles and was somewhere inside, the Upland Police Department posted on X Tuesday evening.

"We learned the subject was a walk-in who was believed to be under the influence of drugs. Once officers got there, we confirmed on surveillance footage that the subject was seen going into the restroom and never coming out," police said.

The officers were initially unable to see the man and did not get a response when calling out for anyone inside the ceiling.

"Due to the extremely confined space, maze of wires, plumbing, HVAC lines, etc., officers had to use a pole camera to look into the ceiling. Within moments, the subject was located on top of a large HVAC unit and wedged under a steel beam in complete darkness," the post read.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department was called after the man finally decided to talk to the officers, informing them that he was stuck and could not free himself.

Firefighters worked for nearly an hour getting the man dislodged from the ceiling and HVAC unit.

"All in all, the subject caused in excess of $5,000 in damages to the ceiling, electrical, and HVAC system," police said.

The man unidentified man was arrested for felony vandalism and taken to a local jail.

Police said the emergency room staff continued working around the incident and prevented any interruptions to ER services.