Man Narrowly Avoids Deadly Situation After Confronting Car Thieves
DENVER (CBS4) - A man escaped a potentially deadly situation in Denver on Friday after he confronted a group riding in the SUV he had previously reported stolen.
Lorenzo Ferrer said he and a co-worker were driving on East 46th Avenue at approximately 5 p.m. when he spotted his vehicle at a gas station. The white 2015 Kia Sorrento had been stolen nearly a week earlier while he was visiting Highlands Ranch.
Ferrer decided to approach the driver's side of the car, and found three people who appeared to be teens or young adults. He confronted the driver.
"I told him 'hey, what's going on?' and he said 'what do you mean what's going on?' I said 'you know what this is my car, this car, I reported about a week ago,'" Ferrer said.
He said the group then tried to drive away, but backed into a pole and blew out one of the car's tires. Ferrer climbed into the vehicle and began hitting the driver. Then a second man in the car pulled a weapon and pointed it at Ferrer.
"He fired the gun twice," he said. "No bullet came out."
The gun did not go off. The suspects drove off, but were forced to abandon the damaged vehicle, Ferrer said. As the group ran away on foot, he realized how close to death he had come.
"That's when it started kicking in what was going on," he said. "In the meanwhile I just wanted to get my car."
Police have not located the suspects. A spokesman says officers are following up on information that they hope leads to arrests. Police also encourage people to put their safety first, and let them respond to illegal activity.
Lauren DiSpirito reports for CBS4 News at 10 p.m. She covers breaking news and feature stories along Colorado's Front Range. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.