A brave delivery driver in his forties was tragically killed while attempting to stop a “vanjacking” after clinging to the passenger door for half a mile as a thief took control of his van. The courier was delivering Amazon parcels in Leeds, West Yorkshire, on Tuesday evening when his grey transit van was stolen. The incident occurred around 6:45 pm when he returned from delivering a package to find a man jumping into his vehicle.
The delivery driver attempted to stop the thief by entering the van, but the suspect sped away, dragging the driver for half a mile as he clung to the door. The van, a silver Ford Transit Cargo, eventually crashed into two parked cars, about half a mile from where the theft began.
Tragically, as the courier lay dying in the street, the thief abandoned the vehicle six miles away on Heights Drive and fled the scene. The police have since launched a manhunt for the suspect, in response to an incident that has deeply shaken the local community.
Hundreds of people have expressed their condolences to the driver’s family on Facebook, describing the incident as “unfair, sad, and heartbreaking.” One commenter noted, “Nobody should have to encounter this while simply carrying out their job.”
