Father who was trying to sell drone on Gumtree dragged almost 200 metres by thugs in car
A Melbourne father-of-two has been dragged almost 200 metres by thugs in a car, as they were robbing him.
The victim thought he was selling the men his $4000 drone after he spoke to them on Gumtree, but as they were pretending to pay, they drove off, and he held on to their car for dear life.
As he hung from the passenger side of the Commodore, one of the thugs had punched him repeatedly in the head.
Victim Damindu Hewa Dewage then ran home to call police, with blood streaming from his head.
Damindu’s 15-year-old son Kawishka witnessed the incident as it unfolded.
“I just saw Dad hanging on and the car was going round and round, doing burnouts,” he said.
The offenders initially arrived at Damindu’s Pakenham house, in Melbourne’s south-east, to buy the drone he was selling on Gumtree.
They tested the aerial camera on New Year’s Day and said the payment was in the car, but that’s when things turned ugly.
Damindu was dragged for 200 metres and flung from the offenders’ car as it sped down Carrington Drive.
The noise was so loud that neighbours came out to help.
“We heard screaming like you wouldn’t believe,” neighbour Sue Bridges said.
“We heard a car screech, a thud, more screaming.”
Damindu spent a night at Casey Hospital in Berwick with wounds to his arm and head.
The Pakenham father suspects the offenders are likely to strike again.
“When they opened their car, I saw that they had two baseball bats and also some crow bars, some metal bars and some masks,” he said.
Local police are investigating.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
