Tow Truck Operator Holds On - 07.12.23 (OR)

[TowForce]

‘Flying out of nowhere’: Operator holds onto back of stolen tow truck speeding 75 mph

 

The operator was in the middle of hooking a car when a man hopped into the truck

 

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Portland man faces kidnapping and reckless endangerment charges after witnesses say they saw him speeding in a stolen tow truck on Interstate 5 — with the operator still hanging onto the backside.

 

Travis Christ, a driver for Retriever Towing, says he was in the middle of hooking up a car to his truck on Monday when 36-year-old Eric Streitzel jumped into the driver’s seat at Northwest Ninth Avenue and Glisan Street.

 

Christ said he jumped onto the back of the tow truck and tried to get inside the car by kicking the rear cab window, but Streitzel looked back at him and continued to run through red lights to get onto I-5 – speeding up to 75 mph and swerving side to side to throw him off.

 

One witness told police Streitzel hit the left side of his car on the freeway, breaking a rim, but kept driving without stopping. Another witness told police she saw the tow truck “hauling a–” behind her and forced her to swerve out of the way, leaving her car with a broken driver’s side mirror.

 

A third witness said he also saw the truck “flying out of nowhere” behind him before it rear-ended him and pushed his Hyundai across two lanes of traffic. Police say Streitzel had swerved back and crashed into a semi-trailer, whose driver said flipped over the cab of his pickup truck.

 

Meanwhile, Christ had been holding onto the tow truck and later said Streitzel kept looking back at him to check whether he was still there throughout the ride. He was taken to OHSU with a shoulder injury and possible broken ribs. 

 

When officers arrived, they say they found Streitzel in the middle of the freeway with no shoes on, saying “I did a bad thing” and “I’m sorry.” He had minor injuries.

 

According to officers, Streitzel told them he had stolen the car to get his own car back. He now faces 21 total charges, including:

• Attempt to commit any degree of murder
• First-degree robbery
• First-degree kidnapping
• Two counts of second-degree assault
• Unlawful use of a weapon
• Unauthorized use of a vehicle
• Possession of a stolen vehicle
• First-degree theft
• Four counts of recklessly endangering another person
• Four counts of failing to perform duties of a driver (property damage)
• Second-degree criminal mischief
• Four counts of criminal mischief

Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.

 

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[WorkSafe]

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