‘They were ready to do anything to take that vehicle’: Salesman recounts test drive robbery

Most people don’t show up to work thinking a knife might be held to their neck, but that’s exactly what happened to a Saskatoon car salesman during a test drive last Thursday.

It all began like a normal day. Two women were looking at a vehicle and decided to take it for a test drive. That’s where Jakir Hossain comes into the picture.

Hossain, who works at Sky Motors on Idylwyld Drive, said he ran their licences just like he would with anyone wanting to test drive a vehicle. His check showed that the only woman with a licence was currently suspended, so he decided he would drive the vehicle, with the two women as passengers.

It seemed like a regular drive at first, he said, but the three only drove a short distance. On the way back, Hossain said one of the women told him to pull the car over.

Hossain, confused by the request, asked why. In response, he said the woman in the backseat pulled out a knife and held it to his neck, ordering him to get out.

He got out in order to save his own life, he said, but not before suffering a minor cut on his right hand.

The two women were later tracked down by police, arrested and charged after allegedly ramming police cars in the stolen vehicle, injuring an officer.

After the terrifying encounter, Hossain said he can barely concentrate and was shaken by the entire experience.

“I’m feeling really, really frustrated now, because I get scared of people now. It was a very unpleasant experience for me because it’s never happened to me,” Hossain said.

Despite the experience, Hossain said he has taken a few people on test drives since the incident.

“Nowadays, I’m feeling a bit insecure and unsafe. (The) last two or three days, I haven’t been able to sleep well,” he said.

Hossain came to Saskatoon from Bangladesh to attend classes at the University of Saskatchewan, and is here by himself.

“I didn’t share this news with my parents because I know they would be very anxious and it would make me feel more bad, so I didn’t share the news with them,” Hossain said.

He has told some friends in the city, but Hossain said others find it difficult to relate because they weren’t there in the car.

“I feel like things are very unpredictable and things happened very unexpectedly,” he said. “My mind is not in peace.”

Although he suffered a minor cut, Hossain said he knows it could have been a lot worse.

“If I stayed in the vehicle and argued with them, something could’ve happened very bad to me, because they were ready to do anything to take that vehicle from me,” Hossain said.

His employer has been supportive of him ever since the incident, but Hossain said he is still trying to process his emotions from the scary encounter.