SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) —An Oakland woman facing felony charges for allegedly stealing an ambulance from the San Francisco Fire Department has pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Veronica Barahona, 37, has been charged with stealing a vehicle and taking a special vehicle, both felonies, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.

Barahona appeared in San Francisco Superior Court at 1:30 p.m.

Prosecutors asked for a $75,000 bail for the price of taking the ambulance, and the risk it caused the public from the pursuit and the crash.

“I must emphasize for the court that this is a very unusual and egregious vehicle theft,” Assistant District Attorney Traci Lee said.

Judge Charles Crompton granted Barahona supervised release. Crompton said, “she needs treatment more than incarceration.”

Deputy Public Defender Ariana Downing said Barahona was working on getting her life back together after struggling with addiction. She got a certificate to become a forklift driver but recently relapsed, Downing said.

The incident started Tuesday morning around 8 a.m. when emergency medical crews were responding to a call on Mason Street.

According to police, Barahona drove off with the unoccupied ambulance and led officers on a pursuit.

The chase ended on the Bay Bridge at the Treasure Island off-ramp after Barahona lost control of the vehicle and crashed, police said.

The ambulance caught fire and police then took Barahona into custody.

The crash caused the eastbound Treasure Island off-ramp to be closed for two hours. It also caused major traffic backup on the Bay Bridge.

San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Jonathan Baxter said ambulances cost around $150,000 each, and the equipment inside an additional $50,000 to $75,000. The department is still assessing how much of the equipment inside the damaged ambulance is salvageable.

The ambulance in question was among the oldest in the department’s 54-vehicle fleet and was likely to be replaced in August when nine new ambulances are scheduled to arrive, Baxter said.

“But whether it’s a brand new ambulance or one of the oldest, it’s something that is a resource and a valuable tool for the department,” he said.