A man was seriously hurt in an attempted truck theft Wednesday afternoon at a property on Reid Road, just north of Parksville.
“We were sitting there working on our shop and all of a sudden there was a Dodge Ram come screaming out of our neighbour’s yard,” said Jai Kealy, who lives adjacent to the property.
His yard backs on to the one where police allege the theft of a silver Dodge Ram had just taken place.
The exact circumstances are unclear, but police say three people who are known to each other, including the truck’s owner, were present when one man took off in it, out a long driveway onto Reid Road.
The vehicle then lost control as it entered Wembly Road, where the crash happened seconds later.
“It came peeling out onto the road and they went out onto the main drag and the guy lost control of it and flipped the truck into the ditch and the guy who was chasing him ended up underneath the truck,” added Kealy.
Police said it appears the man underneath the truck attempted to stop the vehicle, which was in the process of being stolen.
“In doing so [he] was injured as the driver fled in the pickup truck,” stated Sgt. Steve Rose, Oceanside RCMP.
The 28-year-old man suffered significant injuries and was airlifted to a Victora hospital where he was listed in stable condition Thursday.
The man who was driving took off on foot down Reid Road.
“I’d seen a truck in the ditch and someone running toward me and I looked beside me and a group of people were coming out and one of them punched the guy right in the face,” said Jeff Dutton, who lives in the area.
“So I stopped and said ‘What’s going on?’ and the guy took off and they said he stole our truck.”
A 21-year-old man was arrested about 30 minutes later. He was due to appear in Nanaimo court Thursday afternoon facing several charges.
Police are asking any witnesses with or without video to give them a call at 250-248-6111
Dean Stoltz
