Carlton coach Michael Voss has made a citizen’s arrest after seeing an alleged car thief try to flee after allegedly crashing a stolen car in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.
The AFL coach was at a cafe on Tuesday morning when the Mercedes flipped on its side on a footpath after crashing.
Two occupants attempted to flee the scene “however one teen was detained by a member of the public”, Victoria police said in a statement.
Voss was not harmed when making the citizen’s arrest.
“It was a bit of action,” the AFL coach told the Nine Network. “I was hoping to be on a couple of days’ break but it’s all good here. I have spoken to the police but everyone is safe and healthy and that is all that matters.”
Anna Japp, who works at Barton Milk Bar, saw through the cafe window that the car had flipped.
“I saw the side door burst open and two young guys jumped out of the car pretty much instantly after,” she said.
From the front of the cafe, patrons could see the scene, Japp said.
“So everyone kind of got up, ran outside, and there was a bit of a commotion outside,” she said. “Everyone who was sitting in our outdoor seating also got up and were all interested.”
Voss was outside waiting for his takeaway.
“Then, after seeing it happen, he was kind of the first to get over there to the scene,” Japp said.
Victoria police said a 16-year-old boy was arrested after he tried to run from the Mercedes, which crashed at about 9am on Tuesday.
Officers were searching for a second person who allegedly fled the scene. He was described as having a “fair complexion, long blond hair, wearing a black cap, black and white scarf, black hoodie and black pants”.
The Mercedes was stolen from Ivanhoe East on 21 August, Victoria police said on Tuesday. The investigation was ongoing.
James Laskie, the owner of the Barton Milk Bar, said he helped Voss chase the alleged offenders.
“One of them got away but [Voss] grabbed the second guy and had him on the floor,” he told Nine. “Police did a search of him and they [allegedly] removed a large knife from him and it was a decent-sized knife.”