There may be a new action hero moonlighting as a tow-truck driver in a community west of Calgary.
Brody Leimer went to pick up a truck left on the side of the road early Monday near Cochrane. While he was in the middle of hooking it up, a man drove off in the tow truck with Leimer partially inside the attached sport utility vehicle.
The SUV wasn't completely secured and Leimer was dragged down the Trans-Canada Highway at about 65 kilometres an hour.
The tires on the vehicle popped and the rims hitting the asphalt caused sparks to fly. Leimer managed to jump onto the hood and was able to scramble to the passenger side of his tow truck and somehow managed to wrench open the passenger door.
"He leaps over to his tow truck and makes his way to the passenger door, swings on in and confronts the 20-year-old male who had stolen his tow truck," said Cochrane RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.
"The male didn't go willingly. There was a bit of a fight that ensued, but fortunately Brody was able to overpower him, get the vehicle stopped and throw out the suspect of the tow truck," he said.
"It makes you think you're watching the 'Last Action Hero' or 'Mission Impossible.' Certainly something like that is a pretty amazing story."
Leimer, who works the night shift, wasn't immediately available to give his take on what happened.
But one of his supervisors, Randy Pace from Big Hill Towing, got a phone call from a shaken Leimer about 4 a.m.
He immediately drove out to where his friend was waiting in the truck and, after swinging around on the highway, found another surprise — an intoxicated man walking along the road.
"He's soaked through and through. He's shivering cold and his face is all bloody. I offer assistance to get into the truck, which he does, and I crank the heat up," said Pace.
He told his passenger he had to retrieve a first-aid kit in the back of the truck and called his boss who contacted the RCMP.
"I kept him there until the RCMP arrived."
As for Leimer's exploits, Pace said he's glad it wasn't him.
"It took him a long time to come down. He was pretty shook up and the thing could have gone sideways really quickly," he said.
"I wouldn't have expected anybody to be able to pull this off. I'm thankful it was him because I think he would have been the only guy that could have done it."
RCMP have charged Aaron Omeasoo-Stephens with impaired driving, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level exceeding .08, theft over $5000 and driving without a licence.
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