Cardiff courier dragged under stolen van critically ill

Police in North Road, Cardiff: The van was stolen from nearby Laytonia Avenue while the victim was delivering parcels

A man has been arrested after a courier was hit and dragged under the van he was using to deliver parcels.

The incident happened on North Road, one of the main routes into Cardiff, on Tuesday afternoon.

It has left a 54-year-old man critically injured in the University Hospital of Wales. A 39-year-old man is in police custody.

South Wales Police said the white delivery van was stolen before the vehicle hit the victim.

"During the theft, it is believed the van collided with the owner who has then been carried by the vehicle for a considerable distance until it came to a halt," Det Ch Insp Matt Powell said.

"This is a shocking incident, and our thoughts are with the victim's family who continue to be supported by specialist officers."

Dr Tamar Elsayed called the ambulance and saw the driver flee from the incident

Eyewitness Dr Tamar Elsayed, who runs a language school on North Road, described what happened.

He said: "We were sat in the office, all of a sudden we saw a van pull into this corner.

"The van seemed to struggle to go up this little hill by here.

"My partner sat next to me saw the gentleman underneath the car injured.

"We immediately ran out and we checked the gentleman underneath the car and he was injured.

"There were a couple of the teachers from Cathays High School there helping and we got in touch straight away with the police and the emergency services.

"It was a difficult situation, we didn't want to do more damage, we tried to reassure him as much as possible but he was already unconscious."

The collision took place outside Cathays High School on Tuesday

He added: "We blocked the road until the emergency services came, within minutes the emergency services came and they did an amazing job.

"The fire team really took charge, they were doing CPR, they were doing so much work to save his life, and the paramedics they were trying to do everything they can to save his life.

"It was hard to work out where he was hit and how the accident happened.

"We checked the cameras for about two hours later and it was discovered that he was hit right by the traffic light and the end of the block and he was dragged all the way to here which is about 50m (165ft).

"So it must have been very painful and horrible for him, but hopefully God willing he will survive."

Drivers were advised to avoid the area on Tuesday afternoon and football fans heading to the Wales-Latvia game at Cardiff City Stadium were advised to take another route.

Police are continuing to investigate and appealing for information.