A terrified dad was knocked down by a carjacker trying to steal his vehicle before being dragging 100 metres onto a busy dual carriageway.
Kevin Watts' car was stolen at a supermarket petrol station in Birmingham and he became lodged underneath as the criminal drove away. The 42-year-old has re-lived his ordeal after being rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital but the trauma left him feeling lucky to be alive as he faces up to months in a wheelchair while he recovers. No arrests have yet been been made.
He said he was "stuck under the back wheel" after a man jumped into his Vauxhall Insignia at Sainsbury's at Castle Vale last Friday. He was putting air into the tyre on the passenger side when he suddenly heard the doors lock and the engine start - and it was the beginning of a potentially life-changing few minutes.
The Jaguar Land Rover maintenance technician was knocked down by the thief before getting stuck beneath the back wheel and dragged along the road. The brave dad has already undergone surgery for skin grafts and on his broken tibia at the hospital where he remains more than a week after the ordeal. He also broke his pelvis in two places and was left with scratches and cuts.
"It's push-button to start the engine," he told BirminghamLive from his hospital bed. "I shot up and saw a guy sitting in the driving seat and then all hell broke loose. Because it's front-wheel drive, I was wedged by the wheel which wasn't turning. I was just skidding along with it. "I remember actively trying to avoid letting my head hit the floor. "
Kevin, who has a partner and a four-year-old son, went on: "I was screaming 'stop', which he eventually did, and I managed to pull myself away from the car before he drove off. The police watched the CCTV and told me some officers couldn't watch it back because it was so traumatic. One said she was amazed I was alive.
"I feel so lucky to still be here and to have avoided head trauma It will be a while before I'm allowed out of here but doctors said I will make a full recovery," Mr Watts told the publication. "I will need to use a wheelchair for a few months before I'm able to properly walk again."
West Midlands Police confirmed enquiries were ongoing and no arrests had been made. The force said in a previous statement: "We were called after a man was injured when a car was stolen from a garage forecourt in Chester Road, Tyburn at around 9.15am on Friday, November 10.
“Officers attended and found a man being attended to by paramedics before being taken to hospital with leg injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening. A Vauxhall car was later found by officers in Chelmsley Wood and is being recovered for forensic opportunities.
“Anyone with information can contact us via Live Chat on our website, or call 101, quoting log 825 of 10 November. To tell us what you know, not who you are, you can speak to independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”