Death-defying, high-speed ride atop stolen car caught on camera
Moe AL-Kaissy, 23, hung on to the hood of a car stolen from his family's dealership
What started out as a routine request to look at a used car turned into a terrifying high-speed ride atop a stolen vehicle for a London, Ont., man over the weekend.
Moe AL-Kaissy, 23, clung to the hood of the car after it hit him, forcing him onto the hood and taking him on a death-defying trip for more than a kilometre on one of the city's busiest streets.
The whole ordeal was caught on several surveillance cameras and posted to the dealership's Facebook page over the weekend.
"He's shook. He was hanging on for his life. He was scared for his life," said Mustafa AL-Kaissy, who owns the dealership, about his brother, Moe, who was hit by the car on Wednesday.
London police are investigating. Ontario Provincial Police have also been contacted.
The incident happened when two men asked for an appointment to see a BMW at the Sport Motors Auto Sales dealership on Oxford Street East on March 3.
"He showed them the car for five minutes. They asked if they could hear it running, so Moe started it for him," Mustafa told CBC News.
"Then he asked to go inside the car for some privacy, to make a phone call. Moe figured he had to consult his parents or something. It's a big purchase."
What happens next is jaw-dropping.
'Hang on to the car or fall off and probably die'
The car takes off, hits Moe AL-Kaissy at the knees, forcing him onto the hood of the car. The vehicle accelerates onto busy Oxford Street with the salesperson on the hood of the car, his feet dragging along on the pavement.
"Moe is in shock. The last thing you expect when you're showing a car is someone running you over," Mustafa said.
Rewatching the footage, Moe said it almost doesn't seem real, even though he remembers every terrifying moment.
"Watching it, I just think, 'This could have gone wrong so many different ways, a million different ways," he said. "I can remember everything that happened, and I know in that moment, it was fight or flight. It was hang on to the car or fall off and probably die."
The car heads toward Highbury Avenue and accelerates, trying to knock AL-Kaissy off the vehicle. At one point, the car went in the oncoming lane, running a red light.
'No regard for human life'
"The thing is, there's a human being hanging on for his life on that hood and [the driver] is trying to look over him to drive," Mustafa said. "What kind of person is this? He clearly has no regard for human life or anything around him."
When the car turns onto Highbury Avenue, which continues on to Hwy. 401, Moe saw his chance to get off.
"He started to fall," Mustafa said, "and the second he fell, you can see, he's still in shock, he gets up, weaving between cars trying to get them to stop, and then the guy in the Audi, the accomplice who dropped the guy off at the dealership, almost hits him."
Moe immediately called 911 as well as his family. The family also called BMW and put a GPS trace on the car, which they say was last located in North York.
"It's mind boggling," Mustafa said.
Moe is still very shaken up. His knee is hurt, and his toes are bloody because they were at one point dragging beside the vehicle.
"This was a very serious situation. He almost died," Mustafa said. "Moe is in a lot of pain. He can barely walk."
"We're speechless. For this to happen in broad daylight on our city streets, why do these guys think it's OK to do this midday? Do they have no regard for anything or anyone?"
The family wants other car dealerships to know that such a thing can happen. There were no red flags about the man who came to look at the BMW, Moe AL-Kaissy said. He was wearing a suit and was clean-cut.
"Honestly, it's not about the car. It's the fact that I'm here and I'm very thankful for that," he said.
"I don't want this happening to somebody else. We're just trying to prevent the situation from happening to other dealerships, to the other salesman. We want to spread awareness."
Police seeking info
London police are looking for the black 2018 BMW M4. It has a red leather interior and dealer plate 084DRX.
Police are also looking for a silver Audi with dark tinted windows, a sunroof and silver rims.
The suspect who drove the BMW is described as a man with a thin build, about 5 foot 8, with black puffy hair and a black beard. He was wearing a black face mask, a navy blue suit and a white dress shirt with dots.
Investigators are also asking for dash-cam video from anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the incident.