Instant karma for highway robbers when victim runs one over when they try to force his car to stop at gunpoint

By NATALIA PENZA

Published: 12:27, 11 February 2026 | Updated: 12:34, 11 February 2026

This is the incredible moment a motorist foiled an astonishing armed highway robbery by mowing down one of the gun-toting criminals who tried to force him to stop.

Instead of braking to avoid a collision, he made sure his assailant got instant Karma by accelerating into him through a narrow gap between the thief's vehicle, video shows.

At least two armed men who appeared to be wearing masks to cover their faces were seen emerging from the car in front of them after it screeched to a halt to try to block their path.

Seconds before the hold-up, the woman whose companion got them out of danger was overheard saying, 'They say this area is kind of dangerous.'

The woman with the intended victim could be heard screaming as they hit the bandit at speed before telling her companion: 'You were right' in an apparent admission that they had their suspicions they were about to be ambushed.

The driver who took the drastic action could be overheard trying to control his panicked breathing as the couple discussed coming to a stop further down the motorway when they were in an area they considered to be safer.

The drama happened on Saturday in Quilicura, a commune of Chile, in its capital, Santiago.

The couple targeted were about to access the Vespucio Norte motorway from a national road called Ruta 5.

A ballsy motorist foiled an astonishing armed highway robbery by mowing down one of the gun-toting criminals in Chile

Screen grab shows at least two armed men emerging from the car as they got ready to rob the vehicle behind them

The driver decided to act quickly, and hit the thief with his car before making an escape

The brave driver confirmed to a Chilean radio station that they had been talking about their suspicions of the Audi in front of them before the drama unfolded.

He said: 'I'd picked up on the fact there were several people inside and they were going fast.

'I'd accelerated a bit to put some distance between us when I first saw it behind me, and it accelerated even more and got in front of me.

'I reckon I must have been going between 50mph and 60mph when I ran the guy over.'

He added: 'When I saw one of them getting out holding a weapon, my only intention was to escape that situation.

'My brother had suffered an identical hold-up in a nearby area, so I was mentally prepared for a similar situation.

'They were seconds, but they felt like a lifetime.

I clearly saw the weapon and looked for a way out.'

Police told the victim that when he went to report what had happened, the Audi the criminals used had been found abandoned nearby.

Cops said five men in the same vehicle are believed to have been behind an attempted shop robbery in the same area on Saturday, indicating they believed the man who was mowed down had not been seriously injured.

Locals said the so-called 'encerronas', the name they give to the highway hold-ups, are common occurrences during both the day and at night in the area.

Chile's Minister of Security Luis Cordero, said police were studying ways in which they could improve the fight against these 'violent crimes.'

Lawyer Marcelo Abujiar said it was unlikely the driver who mowed down the criminal trying to force him to a stop would face prosecution, adding: 'Given that the place where this incident occurred is well-known for these so-called encerronas, the reaction of this motorist could be justified as a self-defence mechanism.'