Winnipeg man dragged, vehicle rammed after confronting driver of stolen Ford

A Winnipeg man had a dangerous confrontation with the personhe believes stole his truck after spotting it on the road more than two months after it was stolen.

Quinn LeBlancwound up having his second vehicle rammedand was briefly dragged by the stolen truck after he confronted the man who was driving it last week.

"Hindsight, you know, you think about it, it wasn't the right thing to do," LeBlancsaid.

But he said his emotions took overwhen he saw the burgundy 2000 Ford F-250 driving near Henderson Highway and recognized it as the one that was stolen from in front of his home on Mulvey Avenue.

"Adrenaline kicks in and you go 'Oh, this is my chance to get my truck,' but not thinking the guy's going to back into you and drive away," he said.

LeBlanc said it was a blow to him when the truck was stolen on June 13. It was passed on to him by his father three years ago and has served him well over the years, he said.

It just happened so fast, you go, 'Oh, man, I can't believe it.'- Quinn LeBlanc

Not long afterward, he received parking tickets in the mail showing the truck had been left sitting in a two-hour parking zone on DalyStreet and Nassau Street for two days.

Then last week, when he was picking up his son at a bus stop on HendersonHighway near Chief Peguis Trail, he spotted the truck. The new user had switched out his plates for Ontario plates, but LeBlanc said he recognized it right away.

"I was kind of shocked. My son looked at me at the same time and he goes, 'Dad, the truck!' LeBlanc said. "It's obvious, you know? I know that truck. You just know your truck."

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LeBlancfollowed the truck in his second vehicle, with his son and father in tow, he said. When the truck pulled into a driveway nearby, LeBlancparked his own vehicle across the entrance, blocking the truck's way out.

"I approached him and well, of course, he denied it and all that. I said, 'Call 911' to the boys in the back. And then he proceeded to put it in reverse and just give 'er and rammed into the truck," he said.

At that point, LeBlanc said, hegrabbed the driver through the open window and held on tight.

"Then he put it in drive and he proceeded to go over the neighbour's front yard. I'm still hanging on, which is silly, but then I just let go and away he went," he said.

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"It just happened so fast, you go, 'Oh, man, I can't believe it.' Then we hopped in, maybe looking around where he went, but he was long gone, you know? And so we came back to make a police report and then here we are."

'My emotions got ahead of me'

Looking back on his actions, LeBlanc said he wishes he'd done it all differently.

"Sick. I didn't sleep that night. I was thinking, 'Oh I should havewhat I should have done was just stay back, call the police and just watch.' That would have been the smart thing," he said."But my emotions got ahead of me."

He posted an image of the truck on Facebook, hoping to locate it with the help of social media, and included a $500 reward for any information that helps him do that.

The truck is aburgundy, diesel, 2000 Ford F-250 crew-cab with chrome along the bottom, LeBlanc said. When he last saw it, it had Ontario plates that were slightly folded over. He said the driver's rear side and tail gate arelikely damaged after ramming his vehicle.

If you see it, he'd like you to email him at leblanc3@mts.net.