Man fighting for life after attempted car theft went wrong in Melbourne CBD

A man is recovering in hospital after he was run down while trying to stop a thief stealing his car in a city laneway.

A man is recovering in hospital after he was run down while trying to stop an “opportunistic” thief stealing his car in a shocking daylight attack in Melbourne’s CBD.

Confronting CCTV captures the moment the victim clings to the front of the red Ford 4WD as his attacker continued to drive forward in busy Hardware Lane about 3pm Thursday.

The offender on Friday afternoon remained on the run while the victim, a 30-year-old Melbourne man, was recovering in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators are now treating the incident as a car theft and subsequent hit and run.

Senior Constable Mark Hall said the victim was in “pretty good spirits but obviously pretty sore”.

“He’s got some pretty serious abrasions through his body, consistent with being run over, but otherwise he’s in good health.”

The Herald Sun has been told the victim is a resident of the apartments above the dessert shop, Nimbo.

The man inspected the car before driving off.

The victim was left clinging to the front of his own car.

Bystanders tried to stop the man driving off.

Before the horror unfolded, the video shows a scooter rider in a blue hoodie inspecting the 4WD, which was parked outside restaurants and bars.

After folding up his scooter and placing it in the rear passenger seat, the offender jumps into the driver’s seat.

It is at this point the victim and a woman – who had been packing boxes into a trolley just in front of the vehicle – notice their car is about to be stolen.

They both run to try and stop the thief.

But as the victim stands in front of the car, the attacker drives forward.

“Our victim has then been dragged about 15 to 20m in front of the car then subsequently run over,” Sen Con. Hall added.

Witnesses desperately try to open the back doors as the 4WD continues to move along the road with the victim clinging to the bonnet, even as it goes over a speed hump.

CJ Lunch Bar Restaurant supervisor Myeong Jun Kim said he was “shocked” by the incident, as he had never witnessed a crime like this in the area.

“I saw a girl screaming and I went out and a man was lying on the street,” he said.

“People were getting out a first aid kit and other people called an ambulance.

“The man had a cut on his head and he was bleeding.

“We had to close the store for three hours,” Mr Jun Kim said.

The offender was then tracked through the intersection of Victoria and Elizabeth streets but has not been sighted since.

The victim was on Friday afternoon in a stable condition.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.