Hero cousins break their silence after wild vision emerges of them fighting off alleged Melbourne carjackers
The identities of delivery drivers filmed fending off two alleged car thieves with a spirit level at a Melbourne petrol station have been revealed.
Cousins Ash and Sahil pulled their truck into a service station on the EastLink Highway in Scorsby for coffee around 12 a.m. on March 22.
While Ash was in the bathroom, Sahil was allegedly approached by two men aged 18 and 20, demanding that he hand over the keys to the delivery van.
“They both came up to me (and said give me the truck or you will pay for it),” Sahil told A Current Affair.
“They were racially abusing us, it shocked me to my core.
“First he slapped me, then I slapped him back.”
The confrontation was captured in a now-viral video in which Sahil bravely fights back against his alleged attackers.
Sahil then uses the spirit level as a weapon to escort the alleged criminals back to a red Subaru sedan.
Sahil is revealed to be a star cricketer, which explains his mastery of blunt weapons.
“I managed to take two seconds to call Ash, he was completely clueless,” Sahil said.
“I saw Sahil with the level and I was like ‘oh okay the level is over now’,” said Ash.
At one stage, one of the alleged offenders is seen trying to pull a guitar into the fight.
After committing the car theft, both suspects fled the scene in a Subaru.
The Cousins are experiencing a new level of recognition following the release of the viral video.
“Just yesterday we stopped by to get fuel and the old gentleman said, ‘Hey guys, can I get you some coffee,'” Ash said.
“We walk by and people honk at us and give us thumbs up as we pass.”
Sahil was nicknamed “Rocky” by his co-workers for his fighting ability.
“He watched Rocky, he was probably boxing in his dreams a lot,” Ash said.
“It came completely out of me, I don’t know where it came from,” Sahil said.
As a reward, LG marketing director Gemma Lemieux presented the couple with $5,000 in store credit each.
They were also given a spare spirit level by ACA’s Sam Cucchiara.
The two alleged offenders were charged with common law assault and drug abuse and bailed to appear at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on June 16.
