Carlton coach Michael Voss tackles armed car thief while doing coffee run

Carlton coach Michael Voss has chased down alleged car thieves who crashed a stolen Mercedes.

Voss was buying coffee on Tuesday morning at the Barton Milk Bar in Hawthorn when he witnessed the vehicle crash across the road.

When the two teenagers suspected of stealing the car got out and took off on foot, Voss and the milk bar owner gave chase.

‘Once the two men got out of the vehicle and got their belongings, they sprinted up the street,’ Cafe owner Mr Laskie told the Herald Sun. 

‘Michael Voss started chasing them, and so I chased after them as well.’

Voss tackled one of the teenagers to the ground while police officers arrived on the scene. The other offender is reported to have escaped for the time being.

‘They went into an apartment block, and it’s pretty hectic, and one of them got away, but he (Voss) grabbed the second guy and had him on the floor,’ Mr Laskie said.

‘And I tried to chase after the other guy, but he was too fast for me, and so we were fortunate enough to get one of them.

Offenders pictured climbing out of crashed Mercedes on Tuesday morning

‘It was a pretty hectic morning.’

Mr Laskie also added that police pulled a ‘large knife’ from the pants of the man that Voss had tackled. 

Voss, who went back afterwards to collect his coffee from the cafe, was modest about his involvement in the incident.

‘It was a bit of action… I was hoping to be on a couple of days break but it’s all good here,’ Voss told 9News.

‘I have spoken to the police but everyone is safe and healthy and that is all that matters.

‘Hopefully it will get dealt with quickly.’

The car crashed close to a school crossing and Mr Laskie was relieved nobody was hurt. 

Voss managed to chase down and tackle one of the teenagers

‘It’s a really busy corner,’ Mr Laskie said.

‘And for this to happen without tragedy, I think everyone’s very, very lucky this morning.’

More to come.