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SUPPLIED
A driver tried to grab his truck to prevent it from being stolen, but was dragged down the sidewalk.
A courier driver was dragged off the sidewalk and left bloodied in Hawke’s Bay after a suspected thief tried to escape with his work truck.
A police spokesman said the 45-year-old courier driver was recovering after the incident at Russell St South in Hastings on Monday, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. that day.
The van was illegally taken, police said.
That day, the courier driver made a short delivery at Cafe at Westermans. While the truck was unoccupied, the offender sat in the driver’s seat and began to drive away, police said.
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The courier driver confronted the offender, hooked himself on the driver’s window and held him for some time while the offender continued to drive.
When the driver’s window was finally smashed, the courier driver fell to the ground and received moderate injuries, including cuts and scrapes to his head, face and body.
Police said they quickly recovered the truck.
A 21-year-old man from Hastings was arrested and appeared in Hastings District Court, charged with aggravated injuries, illegally taking a motor vehicle, theft of a vehicle and possession of methamphetamine. He was placed in preventive detention to appear again on September 22.
Detective Sgt. Greg Simmons of the Hawke’s Bay Police Criminal Investigation Branch said opportunistic crime should serve as a reminder of how quickly situations can evolve.
All motorists should make sure their vehicles are safe when they are not busy, Simmons said.
Since then, the courier’s driver had been released from the hospital, police said.
