Brian Yoes, 25, of Grandview Hills is treated at the hospital on Dec. 28 after his right leg was run over by the teens who stole his car.
By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News
A Grandview Hills delivery driver is lucky to be alive after a violent confrontation with three teens who attempted to steal his car while he delivered a pizza.
“Every time I really think about it, I can’t help but be amazed that I’m alive,” said Brian Yoes, 25. He is a 2010 graduate of Cedar Park High School.
“I’m very lucky not to have broken anything,” he said. “It all turned out well for me but it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Yoes was delivering a pizza on Dec. 28 at approximately 6:22 p.m. to the Tintara at Canyon Creek Apartments, located at 7655 N. RM 620, just north of the RM 2222 intersection. While collecting payment from his customer, Yoes noticed several individuals walking toward his vehicle, a 2011 Nissan Versa, which he had left unlocked and running. After completing the transaction, he ran toward his car and saw four or five individuals inside of it and starting to drive away, according to the arrest affidavit.
“I just started screaming, ‘They stole my car!’ and took off as fast as I could after it,” Yoes said.
As the car made a corner inside the apartment complex, one of the male suspects who was still trying to get into the car fell onto the pavement. The car sped away but then returned a few moments later in an attempt to get the man who had fallen.
“It was surreal,” Yoes said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just took off after it.”
Delivery driver Brian Yoes’ 2011 Nissan Versa is damaged following a Dec. 28 incident during which five teens stole the car and drove it through a fence at the Tintara at Canyon Creek Apartments.
At that point, the driver’s side window was open and Yoes jumped at the window and reached inside in an attempt to regain control of the vehicle. The driver of the car punched Yoes numerous times and continued driving through the parking lot, dragging Yoes alongside the car.
The driver then sped up and began swerving side to side in an attempt to lose Yoes, who continued to hold on. The driver then crashed through a fence near the apartment’s pool and mailbox area.
According to the arrest affidavit, the collision threw Yoes from the vehicle and caused him to fall beneath the rear wheel as it drove over his right leg. The suspects then got out of the car and fled on foot. A witness nearby who had seen the entire incident then began chasing the suspects but stopped when one of the suspects shot a gun into the air.
After a manhunt, police arrested Andrew Luna, 18, Janelle Ramirez, 17, and Salvador Sanchez-Aguirre, 17, who are all now charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. Police also identified two boys, both juveniles, who they believe helped steal the pizza delivery car.
Police arrested Sanchez-Aguirre by the parking lot of the nearby H-E-B grocery store at Four Points Centre after finding him with two juveniles who matched witnesses’ descriptions. Police arrested Luna and Ramirez when they found them sitting at the Starbucks in the same shopping center, the affidavit said.
Police said a stolen .40-caliber handgun was recovered in Luna’s possession.
Amazingly, Yoes was treated for only a few hours at the hospital and then released with no broken bones and no serious injuries. His right foot is still badly injured though.
“I’m able to put a little more pressure on my foot,” Yoes said Monday. “It’s getting better but it’s still hard to walk on it. I am progressing. I went to the doctor on New Year’s Eve and they said it’s healing very well.”
He said he knows he is very fortunate.
“Every day I’m here is a blessing,” Yoes said.
Looking back, he said he probably would’ve reacted differently.
“I’ve thought about it so much and I’ve struggled with it because it turned out perfectly,” he said. “But in that situation I probably should not have jumped on my car to get it. I probably wouldn’t have done that in hindsight just because of what I’ve had to go through since then.”
Yoes currently lives with his parents in Grandview Hills. He said he is grateful to his family for the support they’ve been throughout the ordeal.
“They’ve done more than I ever could’ve asked,” Yoes said. “They’ve taken really good care of me.”
For now, Yoes is focusing on getting better and taking it one day at a time. He took the job with Dominoes just five months ago, but doesn’t plan to return to delivering pizzas anytime soon.
“I think it’s time for a change,” he said.