Thief nearly loses an arm

A robber almost severed his arm after punching through glass while attempting to steal a cash register from a Nanaimo gas station.

The incident occurred at about 5:40 p.m. Saturday. A man pushed past the clerk at the Petro-Canada gas station in the 1100-block of Terminal Avenue North, grabbed the till and ran for the door.

The man, who appeared to be intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, ran into the glass doors on his way out, threw the till at the door and punched it, said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien.

He then punched the garage bay doors, causing the window to shatter. The man collapsed and was losing blood as the broken glass almost severed his arm.

Three people came to his aid, applying pressure on the wound and wrapping a bungie cord around his arm as an improvised tourniquet.

Mounties arrived minutes later and reapplied a policeissued tourniquet, O’Brien said. B.C. Ambulance paramedics transported the man to hospital where he is expected to remain for some time.

“While at the local hospital, investigators were told by the attending vascular surgeon, if it was not for the quick response and emergency first aid by all involved, the male may have died in the parking lot from his injuries,” O’Brien said. “The quick thinking of the three individuals who assisted was absolutely outstanding, and the RCMP will recognize them at some point in the near future for their heroic actions.”

The stolen till was recovered in the parking lot.