A Morgan Hill man who came to the aid of a motorist who had just
rolled a vehicle three times on Highway 25 got rolled himself.
A Morgan Hill man who came to the aid of a motorist who had just rolled a vehicle three times on Highway 25 got rolled himself.
Mark Smith rushed to help the accident victim at about noon Wednesday, but immediately became one as the unknown motorist scrambled up the embankment and sped away in Smith’s pickup truck.
The bizarre truck theft occurred at about 11:50 a.m. when an unidentified man was driving erratically in the northbound lane of Highway 25, the California Highway Patrol said.
The motorist, described as a thin Hispanic male with a bald head, was reportedly driving a 1992 Toyota Camry at about 65 to 70 mph and using the shoulder of the roadway to pass other drivers on the right, the CHP said.
When a muffler fell off of a vehicle ahead of him, motorists attempted to avoid hitting it. The unidentified driver veered to his left, careened across both lanes of traffic, lost control of the Camry and rolled three times down a small embankment near the railroad tracks at the San Benito-Santa Clara county line, the CHP said.
As Smith walked down the embankment, he reportedly saw the driver grab a black duffel bag out of the Toyota and rush up the embankment cursing and mumbling to himself, the CHP said.
As Smith and others were checking the Camry for other victims, the unknown motorist jump in Smith’s maroon 1998 Ford F-150 pickup, with license plate number 6A10272, and sped north on Highway 25 toward U.S. 101, the CHP said.
The pickup truck has not been found and the car theft suspect is still on the loose, the CHP said.
Anyone with information about the unknown driver or the pick-up truck is being asked to call the California Highway Patrol toll free at: 1-866-502-5058 or to call the nearest law enforcement agency.
