'I felt like he was out to kill': Edmonton men say their vehicle was rammed 20 times on the Henday

Two people in a car were chased and rammed multiple times by the driver of a pickup on Anthony Henday Drive Wednesday morning, in an incident captured on video.

Police confirmed it's one of a string of vehicle crimes, including collisions and carjackings, that took place in Edmonton on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The video was taken by Yussef Zabian, a passenger in the vehicle.

Zabian and Naeem Issa, the driver of the car, spoke to CTV News Edmonton Wednesday afternoon.

The pair were on their way to work around 7 a.m. Wednesday on the Henday near Terwillegar Drive when they said a man in a pickup pulled next to them and took out a gun.

"This guy pulls up beside me and draws a gun and points a gun at us," Issa said. "So I started to speed up trying to get away from him and he gets behind me, just starts ramming me from behind."

Zabian said after they were rammed several times by the pickup he took out his phone and started taking a video while Issa called police.

"We're swerving through traffic, and he just kept on me and ramming me. Over 20 times this guy hit me," Issa said. "Towards the end of the video there you’ll see I passed a police officer on the right shoulder, and he said he clocked me doing 170 kilometres an hour."

Issa said shortly after that, the truck driver caught up with them again, and hit his car so hard it disabled the vehicle.

"Put my car into emergency mode and it wouldn’t go any more."

Issa said they were fortunate there was a law enforcement officer on the road looking for speeders.

"I slammed on my brakes knowing that police officer is going to catch up to me," he said. "I slammed on my brakes and [the pickup truck] passed me a little bit and he slammed on his brakes and he was going to jump out of his truck, but then the police officer pulled up behind us and he went taking off. And then the police officer went after him."

Yussef Zabian (left) and Naeem Issa.

He said the whole chase lasted roughly five minutes, starting in Terwillegar and ending at the QEII exit.

"He was trying to take us off the road. He was trying to get my car to spin out or something."

"I felt like he was out to kill."

Issa said his car is totaled, but he and Zabian did not suffer any major physical injuries.

"Pretty shook up. A little sore. Just traumatized. Completely traumatized," he said.

Police confirmed the driver was arrested Wednesday morning.

The incident on the Henday was one of many involving the driver, police say.

Officers were called to the area of 117 Avenue and 102 Street around 8:10 p.m. on Tuesday after receiving several reports of a white pickup truck smashing into other vehicles.

Police determined the driver of the truck had been involved in two violent, armed carjackings earlier in the evening. 

A white Ram pickup truck was involved in a number of crashes in Edmonton on May 16, 2023. (John Hanson/CTV News Edmonton)

When police arrived, the male driver got out of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred between him and the officers, and one of the officers fired their service weapon.

The male got back into the truck and sped off, before becoming involved in another armed carjacking a short distance away, police said.

None of the officers were injured in the confrontation.

Police say the driver was arrested on Wednesday morning after causing several more crashes and multiple attempted carjackings.

CTV News cameras captured the aftermath of at least one scene at 23 Avenue near 66 Street.

A red pickup truck could be seen abandoned after crashing into some trees near a townhouse complex.

Police tape surrounded the area.

Police say a red pickup truck that crashed into a stand of trees near a south Edmonton housing complex is related to a string of crashes and carjackings on May 16 and 17. (David Ewasuk/CTV News Edmonton)

The male was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons.

He had 17 outstanding warrants.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the police shooting. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk and Matt Woodman