Victim thrown from truck as he tries to stop thief

SEATTLE — University of Washington police said a man attacked the driver of a truck and then drove away in the victim's vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred on Columbia Road behind the Magnuson Health Sciences Building on the University of Washington Campus at 1:15 p.m.

Police said the victim was standing near his running truck talking with another man when the attacker walked up, shoved the victim out of the way, got into the truck's cab and started to drive away.

The victim jumped onto the truck and tried to stop the fleeing driver, but was thrown from the truck as it sped away.

The victim was slightly injured but didn’t require medical attention.

The victim is employed by a contractor working on the UW Campus, and the stolen truck is owned by the contractor.

University and Seattle police responded to the area and looked for the truck and the suspect, but they were not located.

The attacker is described as a Native American man, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a stocky build, spiked black hair, bushy eyebrows and brown eyes.  He had two black eyes which were somewhat bloodied that were not a result of the incident, police said.  He was wearing black sweatpants and a mid-thigh length jacket or trench coat.

The stolen vehicle is described as a yellow 2000 Ford F350 truck with Washington license B45050N marked with Ness Crane and the number 38 on the sides.

This case is being investigated by the University of Washington Police under case number 13-000281.  Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the UWPD at 206-543-9331.  Anonymous tips are welcome.

KIRO