Caught on Camera: Puyallup man takes wild ride on hood of car after thieves try to run him over
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Caught on camera, a Puyallup man says two serial car prowlers in the neighborhood nearly killed him after he caught them rummaging through his truck on April 3rd.
The confrontation ended with the suspects trying to run Eric Smith down in his own driveway, but he was too fast and survived the attack.
"It’s fortunate the way it ended, I’m not injured, but it could have been a lot different," said Smith.
In a video almost too wild to believe, Smith feels lucky to be alive after he was confronted by a pair of accused car prowlers who tried to run him over.
The trouble began just after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
"I received a notification from the camera above," said Smith.
A phone alert warned him that someone was going through his truck.
"I looked down and saw the picture and saw the notification and saw my truck door open, and I was like oh, no, it isn’t going to happen here," said Smith. "I hopped out of bed, ran downstairs barefooted."
Video shows the suspect running as Smith bolts from the house, chasing and tackling him near the getaway car.
"I have a background in wrestling and all kinds of stuff, so it was just natural instinct," he said.
On video, you can hear the young man call for help from the driver as he wrestles with Smith.
"He obviously was in panic mode, he did not like my hands on him," said Smith.
The driver responded by revving the engine, and gunning it towards Smith, who jumps on the hood like a stuntperson in an action movie.
"It was more of a hop and grab onto the hood," said Smith.
Smith then holds on as the driver plows through the street and into his driveway, the door on his truck still open. Smith said he pushed it with his foot, just before the car crashed into the side of his pickup.
"I ended up on the hood, drove 40 feet into my truck where I kicked the door shut and flew off the hood and on my feet," he said.
Once off the hood and on his feet, Smith pulled out his cell phone to get pictures as they sped away.
A neighbor also provided FOX 13 video from her house that appears to show the suspects stealing from her family's car 30 minutes before Smith's home was targeted, and he was attacked. He thinks the two may be regularly targeting the neighborhood and could be capable of more.
"If they were willing to take the risk of driving and assaulting me, and possibly injuring and killing me, who knows what they would do to the next person," said Eric.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department says that you shouldn't try to confront suspects yourselves, but should call 911 instead. Smith is asking that you reach out to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department if you have any information on whom the suspects might be.
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