Oregon man attempts to steal tow truck as the driver hangs on for dear life

It’s almost something from a video game. A Portland man attempted to steal a tow truck while the driver clung to the vehicle for safety. With the speed of the stolen truck, the vehicle’s operator was hopeless to hop off and self-rescue. 

A man in Portland, Oregon hijacked a tow truck leaving the vehicle’s operator to hang off the back of the rig as he called 911

A Retriever Towing employee is likely happy to be alive after a car theft ordeal nearly killed him. The Oregonian posted a popular video of Eric Clayson Streitzel, a 38-year-old car thief, attempting to get away with a tow truck. However, Streitzel bit off more than he could chew by bringing the tow truck’s driver along for the ride.

The video shows Streitzel driving away in the tow truck as Travis Christ hops onto the back of the rig. Christ, the Retriever Towing driver, drops his weight as Christ peels out. Fortunately, there were plenty of surfaces for Christ to grab, gaining some stability as he did so.

As wild as it seems, Christ moves forward on the truck’s rear end. He punched the dually pickup truck’s rear glass in a vain attempt to prompt the carjacker to stop and get out. Of course, we have to give Christ some credit here. After tapping the glass, he uses his smartphone to call the police. Mind you, all of this is happening while a car thief tries to shake him off.

Fortunately, Christ got through to the emergency services. The video shows the tow truck operator staying low in the truck’s bed as he frantically pounds away at his phone. According to authorities, the criminal hit speeds of over 85 mph and drove on a highway shoulder to lose the persistent tow truck operator.

However, one of Streitzel’s wild shoulder overtake attempts was too much for the wide truck. He clipped a Hyundai sedan and swerved into a semi-truck. Fortunately, Christ and Streitzel survived the high-speed crash. 

Check out the social media video of the truck theft below!