Couple detail moment they were dragged in horrifying ordeal when their car, trailer allegedly stolen

A man charged with stealing a campervan with a young couple inside had no valid driver’s licence at the time of the alleged hijacking.

A man charged with stealing a campervan with a young couple inside and dragging them for hundreds of metres allegedly hijacked the trailer without a valid driver’s licence.

Wallan locals Brock Momcelivic and Jedha Kinder were camping at the Cumberland River rest stop along the Great Ocean Road on August 20 with their two dogs when their car was allegedly hijacked as they slept in the camper trailer, which was still attached to their vehicle.

Victim Brock Momcelivic and his girlfriend, Jedha Kinder, with dog Pablo. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Torquay Crime Investigation Unit detectives charged a 19-year-old Avalon man with reckless conduct endangering life, recklessly causing injury, theft of motor vehicle and driving while disqualified over the “terrifying” incident.

Ms Kinder said she was first to hear her partner’s car start, but before she could properly wake up Mr Momcelivic, the car and trailer were on the move with them and their two dogs unrestrained inside.

“(Jedha) and the two dogs were caught in the annex area and got dragged about 200m up the road before the canvas ripped and they fell out,” Mr Momcelivic told the Herald Sun.

Mr Momcelivic’s car and camper trailer after the incident. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile the 20-year-old clung on to the bedding area on the top of the trailer as his Nissan Patrol GU was driven along an 8km stretch of road into Lorne.

“In the meantime, I found my phone and called the police and was on the phone to an operator. I opened up Google Maps while on the trailer and informed them we were going into Lorne,” he said.

Fortunately, the car came to a halt in Lorne when the “clutch blew out”, enabling Mr Momcelivic to get off the back of the trailer, before heading to the local police station.

The couple’s dogs, Muttly and Pablo, were also caught up in the ordeal. Picture: Supplied

During the ordeal, the couple’s dogs were also thrown out of the trailer. While Ms Kinder’s dog Muttly stayed with its owner, Mr Momcelivic’s dog Pablo ran away.

Eventually, with the help of the local community and a photo released by Victoria Police, Pablo was found – but only after the couple made the two and a half-hour trek back home to Wallan on Sunday.

“The police rang us to inform us that the dog had been found, so we turned around and drove to Lorne to collect him,” Mr Momcelivic said.

The incident left Ms Kinder, also 20, with gravel rash injuries to her left elbow, legs and stomach, as well as a swollen ankle. She required hospital treatment on Monday August 21.

The Avalon man fronted Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was remanded to next appear on September 26.

Originally published as Couple detail moment they were dragged in horrifying ordeal when their car, trailer allegedly stolen