Photo: KOIN.com
Cops can’t say it often enough and it still can’t seem to get through some car owners’ head: don’t leave your car with the engine running, even if you think you’re in a safe neighborhood or believe will only be gone for a couple of minutes, tops.
Brandon Dean from Portland, Oregon, knows that he’s not supposed to do it, but he did it many times. After last week’s events, though, he will never leave the engine of his car running when he steps out of it, not after seeing how quickly it can be taken.
As KOIN6 puts it, Dean wasn’t planning on being inside a gas station for more than a few moments, so he parked his Nissan Sentra and got out of it, leaving it with the engine running. Then, as he was watching the surveillance camera inside the shop, he saw a man get out from the truck he had parked next to, jump into his Nissan and drive away with it.
Though shocked at the thief’s audacity to attempt this in broad daylight and in plain view of the owner, Dean still reacted. He ran out of the gas station and, as the video at the bottom of the page also shows, chased after his own car, now driven by the thief.
When he realized he couldn’t catch it, he threw himself in front of the truck from where the thief had emerged. For a second there, it seemed as if the driver of the truck would stop, but he managed to go around Dean and speed away.
Another driver pulled over and offered to help Dean chase after the 2 cars. The thief eventually managed to get away, but the police did catch the driver in the pickup truck. She told the cops she didn’t know the thief, having just picked him up on the highway, but she couldn’t offer a plausible explanation for refusing to stop when Dean jumped in front of her car.
Now, Dean has learned his lesson and, yes, it’s the same one the cops have been preaching all along: guys and gals, don’t leave your car with the engine running.
As KOIN6 puts it, Dean wasn’t planning on being inside a gas station for more than a few moments, so he parked his Nissan Sentra and got out of it, leaving it with the engine running. Then, as he was watching the surveillance camera inside the shop, he saw a man get out from the truck he had parked next to, jump into his Nissan and drive away with it.
Though shocked at the thief’s audacity to attempt this in broad daylight and in plain view of the owner, Dean still reacted. He ran out of the gas station and, as the video at the bottom of the page also shows, chased after his own car, now driven by the thief.
When he realized he couldn’t catch it, he threw himself in front of the truck from where the thief had emerged. For a second there, it seemed as if the driver of the truck would stop, but he managed to go around Dean and speed away.
Another driver pulled over and offered to help Dean chase after the 2 cars. The thief eventually managed to get away, but the police did catch the driver in the pickup truck. She told the cops she didn’t know the thief, having just picked him up on the highway, but she couldn’t offer a plausible explanation for refusing to stop when Dean jumped in front of her car.
Now, Dean has learned his lesson and, yes, it’s the same one the cops have been preaching all along: guys and gals, don’t leave your car with the engine running.
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