Hemet

Caught on Camera: Attackers Steal Man's Car, Run Him Over

Hemet police released video Monday of a street confrontation during which a man's car was stolen and used to mow him down, leaving him seriously injured.

Investigators posted the images in the hope that someone might recognize and help them identify the assailants.

The confrontation took place just before 7 a.m. Friday in the 1400 block of Gilbert Street, according to the Hemet Police Department.

Cpl. Gabriel Gomez described it as an "ongoing road rage incident" that culminated in the victim's sedan being taken by one of two men in a white Ford Ranger pickup truck.

A witness using a mobile phone camera captured the tail end of the encounter, as the victim, whose name was not released, lashed out at the driver of the pickup.

Video shows the victim's white sedan accelerating into the frame and striking him, throwing his body skyward about 15 feet and landing a short distance away.

The assailant spends the next 20 seconds taking items out of the sedan and tossing them into the pickup, as well as retrieving several items from the street and placing them in the truck, before both men speed away.

Gomez did not disclose whether the suspects and victim were acquainted.

The man was found lying in the street by officers, who arrived moments later. Gomez said the victim remains in serious but stable condition, and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The driver of the pickup was described as 18-25 years old, about 5 foot 10 inches tall, thin, with brown hair, wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and a black baseball cap.

His accomplice, who struck the victim, was described as about 5-foot-10 and 130 pounds, with brown hair, wearing a white T-shirt, dark-colored jeans and a black baseball cap turned backward.

The pickup was a standard cab, mid-size, with a cracked rear window.

Anyone with information on the confrontation was urged to call Gomez at 951-765-2324.

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