A driver seriously injured trying to stop a thief stealing his van has been “overcome with joy” after well-wishers raised thousands so he can buy a new one.
Costel Tablan, 42, suffered three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and ruptured discs in his spine as he clung to the moving vehicle.
He also needed skin grafts on both feet. The thief dragged him out of the vehicle on Sunday, just after he had delivered a package.
Mr Tablan said: “I ran to the other door. In that terrible moment, the thief started it up, dragging me on the streets.
"I shouted, ‘Stop! If not you will kill me’.
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“He tried to knock me into things on the street. I had to let go.
“The police found my pants in one street, a shoe in another, my vest in another.”
Mr Tablan’s boss Dave Richards said he was in hospital facing a “long road” back to health after the vehicle theft in Doncaster.
He added: “It’s a shock there’s people out there doing things like this.”
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Mr Tablan’s colleagues have so far raised more than £6,800 to help him buy a new van.
The dad-of-three of Mansfield, Notts, said: “I am so thankful and overwhelmed from the bottom of my soul for all the support and care people are showing.”
South Yorkshire police said the van had been set alight shortly after it was stolen.
