Man hiding under truck clings for life on highway

Man hiding under truck clings for life on highway

TORONTO - An Ontario man who picked the wrong place to hide from police officers investigating a stolen car will appear in court on Monday.

He had climbed underneath a parked tractor-trailer which suddenly started cruising down Highway 401 before he could let go.

He had to hang on for about 50 kilometres until a motorist driving by saw him dangling below the truck and called police.

"I'm amazed that this young man is still alive, to be honest with you," Ontario Provincial Police Const. Joel Doiron said.

"It was definitely right out of a movie, but all's well that ends well."

Once police were notified they had to perform a risky vehicle stop with cruisers fanning out to stop other vehicles in case he lost his grip.

Once they stopped the trucker, who wasn't aware of his extra load, they arrested the man.

"I don't think this guy was in any mood to do much running at that point," he said.

The man and two accomplices were wanted after police near Morrisburg, southeast of Ottawa, saw a stolen car go through a speed trap at 143-kilometres an hour on Friday.

It just wasn't their day.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested by two off-duty Toronto officers who happened to be in the area.

The third man was nabbed by a police dog while knocking on doors in Morrisburg.

All three are from Hamilton and face a long list of charges including, possession of stolen property and breach of probation.