New wheels for Winnipeg boy dragged by truck as bike stolen

A nine-year-old Winnipeg boy, who clung to a pickup truck as thieves drove off with his bicycle, has received a new bike from a stranger inspired by his story.

"The amount of support that has come through for us, it restores your faith in humanity," said Crystal Davis, whose son, Michael, had his bike stolen Monday evening from the alley behind their St. James-area home.

"It shows you there's more good people in Winnipeg than there are bad ones."

Davis said a man, who wants to remain anonymous, bought the bike from Toys R Us and then delivered it and assembled it for Michael on Wednesday.

She said the man told her he felt connected to what happened to Michael. The man was raised by his mom, who was a single parent like Davis, and remembers having his BMX stolen when he was a kid.

He wanted to make things right for Michael, said Davis, whose son was over the moon with excitement and jumped on the bicycle right away.

"He rode it non-stop for an hour," she said. "He's such a gentle, kind kid. It was heartbreaking [when the other bike was stolen]."

Michael was riding in the back lane with his eight-year-old friend around 7 p.m. Monday.

Davis said he got off to grab something from the backyard and as his friend was waiting, a truck pulled up and a guy jumped out of the passenger seat and grabbed Michael's bike.

Michael ran out from the yard and began chasing the truck, which he managed to grab onto as it was moving, Davis said.

• Winnipeg boy dragged by truck as bike was stolen, says mom

The driver of the truck sped up and slammed on the brakes in an apparent effort to shake Michael off. About three or four houses down the lane, Michael let go and fell onto some grass, Davis said.

Michael was rattled by the incident but otherwise uninjured.

Winnipeg police confirmed officers were called to the home on Aldine Street and the incident is under investigation, but no arrests have been made so far.

Davis posted details about the incident on social media to warn other parents. The post was shared and picked up by media.

The same day that Michael received his new bike, Davis was also contacted by someone from the head office of Boston Pizza who wanted to help out. When the executive learned Michael had a bike, he instead offered the family a free meal at one of the Winnipeg restaurants.

"Yesterday was quite overwhelming for me. There were a lot of tears shed out of happiness," said Davis, who's looking forward to being together as a family for "a stress-free meal."

"We're so incredibly grateful and appreciative to everyone. We never expected this support," Davis said.

"We just [posted about the theft on social media] because we wanted people in the community to be aware this happened and to watch out for the truck."

Davis said she has since had a talk with her son about putting his safety first.

"Hopefully, this doesn't happen again," she said.