‘I’m going to try to stop him’: Driver rams alleged car thief during chase

WSOC spoke with the man who tried himself to take on the driver, who led police on an hours-long chase through the Carolinas Wednesday.

Abrahan Nassar said he was following the WSOC news app, saw what was going on and then witnessed the vehicle shoot across a parking lot near Park and Woodlawn roads.

“I see the guy just cut through and almost hit a couple of cars … that’s when I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to try to stop him,’” he said.

Nassar then rammed the suspect once.

“And you know I got a steel bumper so I … Let me put it to the test,” he said.

Moments later, he rammed him again. Then Nassar rode the SUV through the intersection.

“There was a lady walking by so that’s when I slowed down,” he told WSOC.

The SUV got away, but not for long. Nassar bumped him at least two more times, but then had damaged his truck too much and it came to a stop.

A WSOC reporter asked Nassar if damaging his truck was worth it.

“Yes, because I literally just bought a new truck so this truck was just going to be parts, so at least I can say I crashed her for the right cause,” he said.

WSOC asked, “Did it cross your mind that you could cause a bigger problem?”

“Yes, that’s why I was trying to watch how I hit him and the traffic around me,” Nassar answered. “I was thinking about if it was my wife … my kid … then I would want somebody to stop it.”

It worked out fine this time, but typically police don’t encourage residents getting involved.

Nassar was cited for driving without a license.

This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 6:20 AM with the headline "‘I’m going to try to stop him’: Driver rams alleged car thief during chase."