South Florida Motocross Dad Injured In Car Jacking

Was told that Mr. Balko had met up with someone who was interested in buying a bike that was for sale. I don’t have any further news than what I found at Sun-Sentinel.com’s website. This is Corey Balko’s, (#44) father.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-212pickup,0,6994190.story

Man injured trying to stop pickup truck robbery in Pines

By Joel Marino | Sun-Sentinel.com

9:13 AM EST, February 12, 2008

PEMBROKE PINES – A man was hospitalized early Tuesday after he jumped on the back of his pickup truck to stop it from being stolen, police said.Authorities said Michael Balko, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, was thrown from the truck when it overturned in the parking lot of Century Village. Balko is currently in critical condition at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.According to a Pembroke Pines police report, Balko met with a man Monday night near Pembroke Lakes Mall intending to sell two motorcycles. The bikes were strapped on the back of the pickup truck.

At some point, the prospective buyer got into the truck and tried to steal it, police said. Balko jumped into the back of the truck as the man drove away, hanging on as the vehicle veered erratically on southbound Flamingo Road, the report said.Police said the carjacker turned onto westbound Pembroke Road until it reached the 13400 block where the truck flew past a grass bern and flipped over in the Century Village parking lot. Officers found Balko near lying in the pavement near the vehicle.Police could not immediately find the carjacker, but at around 12:30 a.m., a Century Village security guard called police at 12:30 a.m., reporting a man who was asking directions out of the complex a few hours after the scene had been cleared.That man allegedly broke into a condominium’s back patio once police arrived and hid in the house, repeatedly refusing to surrender, the report said.Officers used a police dog unit to apprehend the suspect. It is not known whether this was the same man who drove away with Balko’s truck, police said. The suspect’s name has not been released.