MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio -- Surveillance footage released by Mount Healthy police Monday shows a weekend car theft that left a store clerk with two broken legs.
Aaron Burmeister, 41, turned on his car to warm it up at about 6:46 a.m., then went back into the store where he worked, a Speedway station on Hamilton Avenue.
He then spotted a man sitting in his car and went to confront him, Sgt. Greg Nolte said. It was then that the man ran over the clerk as he fled the scene in the clerk’s car.
BACKGROUND: Car thief ran over owner, police say
"He broke two legs. He crushed one bone and broke the other in one leg, and he also fractured his knees, so he is going to be in a wheelchair for a month at least before he can even start physical therapy," his sister, Holly Rider-Milkovich, said.
Rider-Milkovich traveled from Michigan to be with her brother while he recovers. She said he works to be a good father to a daughter who's preparing to go to college, as well as a 15-year-old son.
"Aaron is just a gentle soul, and so it feels particularly painful, honestly," she said.
Sgt. Nick Michael said footage shows the thief walk up to the vehicle and get inside. There is typically an increase of cars stolen during the winter, according to police. They recommended not leaving cars unattended with the keys inside. Also, instead of confronting someone breaking into a car, call 911, they said.
"A lot of these individuals are walking, and it's cold, and then they are trying to seek some heat and refuge, and that's one reason why they might do this," Michael said. "In this situation, it could have been. I don't want to speculate. This all happened within one minute."
Mount Healthy police are looking for a silver 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. It has an ARMY sticker in the back and a broken taillight.
Burmeister's family set up a GoFundMe account to help with his medical expenses.
