'It was surreal': Delivery van stolen as package dropped off at Windsor man's house

It's something Asad Mir says he never would've imagined happening in his neighbourhood or city.

The Windsor, Ont., man witnessed a delivery van being stolen while the driver was at his front door, dropping off a package Wednesday morning.

"It was surreal," he said. "It was an experience … wasn't expecting that to happen."

Mir lives in the area near Dominion Boulevard and McKay Avenue in the southwestern Ontario border city.

"I was about to leave for work, and then the doorbell rang. I saw him out the window, and then, by the time I got to the door, I [saw] him running toward his van, and I [saw] a guy jump out of another car, get in his van, and drive off."

Mir says the delivery driver chased the van on foot and tried to get in, but fell off and hurt his elbow and knees.

"I quickly got out, got in my car and drove it to Dominion, and then I saw the delivery guy, told him to get in the car, see if we can follow him, but they just disappeared all of a sudden." 

The van was operated by an independent delivery contractor for the company Dragonfly.

Later that day, police said the van was found abandoned near a wooded area on South Cameron Boulevard. With the help of a sniffer dog, officers located the suspect hiding behind some trees. A 34-year-old man was arrested and charged.

Delivery van followed?

According to Mir, the delivery vehicle was a white Dodge Caravan, and the trailing suspect vehicle was a grey SUV.

"I think that was stolen too, because that had packages inside … had its trunk open and then inside, there was boxes inside that as well."

Mir believes the trailing vehicle must have been following the delivery van — waiting for the right time to jump in when a drop-off was being made.

"They came right after he came to my door. As soon as he came to my door, they pulled up."

Mir moved to Windsor from Brampton in 2006. He's married and now has son.

"I haven't seen anything like that. Windsor was always considered to be the safer spot. That's why we moved."

Mir says people used to be able to leave their cars running in the area — and not have to worry about it. After seeing this vehicle theft firsthand, he says he won't be keeping the key in his ignition ever again if he's not in the vehicle.

"I gotta put more cameras outside my house, which I plan on doing sometime soon."

However, according to Mir, his neighbourhood is generally "pretty safe" and it's caught him off guard.

"I just feel bad for the driver because his employer was kind of getting mad at him because he left the key inside. The street is busy. There's nowhere he could have parked, even if he did park."