A 46-year-old tourist is now in stable condition after catching thieves breaking into his car, snapping photos of them, and being mowed down by their getaway car.
Anyone familiar with the Chronicle’s Car Break-In Map knows that the locations with most frequent auto burglaries are tourist hotspots like Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard Street, and the Legion of Honor. But the Legion of Honor was the unfortunate scene of a break-in gone very violent Tuesday afternoon, as the Examiner reports today that a witness who took photos of a vehicle break-in was run down by the burglars’ getaway car.
Man saw people breaking into his car at the Legion of honor so he started taking pictures of them. Police say suspects ran him over and took off. Victim in the hospital. @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/EvJzbvtbyW
— Jean Elle (@nbcjeanelle) July 10, 2019
ABC 7 adds the additional detail that it was the victim’s own car that the burglars were breaking into, which explains why he was so keen to take pictures. They also note that the victim was a tourist, visiting with his son, and that SFPD thinks there were two suspects in the getaway vehicle.
TOURIST STRUCK: A visitor from Oregon was badly injured in hit & run crash outside @legionofhonor in #SanFrancisco this afternoon. @SFPD says victim was taking pics of 2 men breaking into cars when suspected thieves rammed him with their car & left. Details at 7p on @KTVU Plus. pic.twitter.com/9ZMN7lnGCO
— Alex Savidge (@AlexSavidgeKTVU) July 10, 2019
KTVU dug a little deeper to find that the victim’s car is a black Mustang, and the burglars broke into the vehicle’s driver side window. They add the harrowing account that eyewitnesses say the victim flew 20 feet after being struck by the getaway car.
Legion of Honor parking spaces littered with broken glass today from prior car break ins. Visitors asking us where is police presence a day after tourist run over by car burglars? pic.twitter.com/23hs8VjgB1
— Vic Lee (@vicleeabc7) July 10, 2019
The victim has not been identified, but is apparently 46 years old and from Oregon. He was originally in critical condition with a broken collarbone and head injuries, but he’s since been upgraded to stable condition.
SFPD investigating auto burglary suspects who ran down a man taking pictures of them. Victim in stable condition with broken collar bone and traumatic head injuries pic.twitter.com/yJcKDzjDxx
— Christien Kafton (@CKaftonKTVU) July 10, 2019
The two suspects are still on the loose, though a Muni bus did come along and captured some video footage of the getaway car. That car is a silver four-door BMW (probably more expensive than the Mustang they broke into!) and police add it has a damaged windshield from the collision. They ask anyone with information to call the SFPD anonymous tip-line at (415) 575-4444.
Related: Duboce Park Area Resident Detained For Chasing Down, Allegedly Assaulting Car Burglar [SFist]