A tow truck driver is being hailed a hero by some after stopping a car full of thieves from breaking into a woman’s car in Oakland.
He stopped them by using his own truck to literally drive the suspects out.
It happened last week at a gas station near the Oakland Airport that has become notorious for car break-ins.
“No one should have to live in fear in America,” said tow truck driver Andy.
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Surveillance video shows the tow truck takedown of multiple suspects reportedly attempting to rob a woman pumping gas at the Shell station on Hegenberger.
Andy is the man behind the wheel who admits to deliberately running into their car to prevent them from breaking into others.
He said it all started when he saw one of the masked suspects get out of the car with a gun.
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“He starts coming up and I'm like ‘OK I’m going to use the first thing that I have available,’” said Andy. “So I end up pushing their car, getting her out of harm's way.”
The area is a hot spot for car break-ins with the gas stations averaging 15 break-ins a day.
According to police, the three suspects broke into one vehicle before Andy intervened.
But that’s not where it stops. Video from across the street shows the tow truck hitting the suspect’s SUV again, and one man tries to hop into the getaway car before getting run over by his own SUV.
The getaway car circles the gas station to pick up the injured suspect Andy chases them down the street. He explains his goal was to stop the SUV long enough for police to arrive.
“I wish them the best but I also look at it this way; how many people have you hurt and robbed and everything else?” said Andy.
It was actually his second encounter with the suspects. Just minutes before that, he chased them off the parking lot across the street after seeing them attempt to break into cars there.
When he took pictures of the suspects, that’s when he said they pointed a gun and threatened him.
Cindy Varela owns nearby restaurant Juanita’s and explains the string of car break-ins are driving away business. She said she saw Andy intervene.
“I think what he did was right but was dangerous because the people can come back and harm him and they had weapons. It was scary,” she said.
OPD is urging victim’s to not resist and urging witnesses not to intervene, but Andy says he doesn’t regret stepping in.
“I’m not trying to be a vigilante,” he said. “If I think you are going to get robbed or hurt, I'm going to intervene and I'm going to intervene to the point where you know what, it's going to stop it or it's going to prevent it.”
