Cambridge man who tried to thwart vehicle theft has advice for others: 'Let it go'

Ken Noel has advice for anyone who witnesses their vehicle being stolen: "Don't be stupid like me and try to get the guy. Let it go."

On Tuesday afternoon, the 63-year-old Noel started his 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe in the driveway of his Cambridge, Ont., home to warm it up after a snowfall. As the Santa Fe warmed up, he went and sat in a second vehicle in his driveway which was also warming up.

He says he watched a pickup truck pull onto his street and stop near his driveway. Then he saw a man get out of the truck and walk up his driveway.

"So I got out of my car and he went right up [to the Santa Fe] and I go, 'What do you want?' He jumps in my car. So I flew over. I grabbed the handle, tried to yank open the door to yank them out. I don't know why. And he took off with me and that was it. I got up and went, 'What the hell happened?'" Noel told CBC News.

A security camera on Noel's home caught the ordeal and shows Noel being dragged down the driveway before he lets go and falls to the ground before the Santa Fe is driven away. A horn can be heard as the Santa Fe is driven into oncoming traffic.

Noel says he scraped his knees and arms but was otherwise unharmed.

2 stolen vehicles

The Waterloo Regional Police Service says officers were called to the area of Franklin Boulevard and Jamieson Parkway at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday for a stolen Chevrolet Suburban. The vehicle and driver were found in a parking lot and officers tried to block it in with cruisers, but the driver drove away. Out of a concern for public safety, the officers did not give chase.

The stolen Chevrolet was found a short time later in a parking lot in the area of Jamieson Parkway and Lardner Street.

Then just before 5 p.m., police received a report of a Hyundai Santa Fe stolen from a home on Cooper Street.

Officers determined that the same male suspect was involved in both motor vehicle thefts, police said.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a 32-year-old Brantford man. Police say he's facing a number of charges including flight from police, dangerous operation of a vehicle, possession of stolen property, theft, breach of a release order and operation of a vehicle while prohibited.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

'Don't leave your car running'

Police called on Wednesday to say his Santa Fe had been recovered, Noel said. He was told he could go get it from a scrap yard in Brantford.

Noel said whoever took the vehicle smoked in it and left cigarette butts on the floor, but otherwise the Santa Fe seems to be OK.

"Hopefully that's all. I'm going to take it down to the mechanic and let him look over it, just in case," Noel said.

But, he added quickly, "next time I know one thing: don't leave your car running."

Noel says his experience should be a lesson to others not to leave a running vehicle unattended, even if people think it can't happen to them.

"My neighbourhood, it's a quiet neighbourhood," he said. "Everybody stay in your car while it's running ... I learned my lesson the hard way."

He added he's thankful for people who have reached out or showed concern after they saw the video, which was shared on social media.

"[I was] shaken up a bit, but yeah, I just, I was really pissed off that they stole my car. That's about it."