Life-sized cutouts of David Hasselhoff have been getting stolen from Cumberland Farms convenience stores, with the latest incident happening in Shelton, Connecticut. On Tuesday, Aug. 20, two life-sized cutouts of the former Baywatch star were stolen at the convenience store — and a 36-year-old employee was injured in the resulting melee.
The Connecticut Post reports that occupants of a black SUV cut down the advertisements from a light pole outside the store on River Road around 1:30 a.m. The clerk tried to stop the two men and one woman from fleeing, but the thieves car struck the clerk and dragged him. He is currently in critical condition.
"I am shocked& truly saddened about the Cumberland farms store clerk tragedy My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with him and his family!" the 61-year-old actor tweeted Wednesday. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW I FEEL AT THIS MOMENT PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY A PRAYER THAT HE MAKES A FULL RECOVERY!!"
Nearly 550 of the giant Hasselhoff cutout signs — used for an "Iced Hoffee" advertising campaign — have been stolen at Cumberland Farms stores so far in the Northeast, according to CBS TV in New York.
The chain's vice president of marketing, Gwen Forman, told the Boston Business Journal in June that hundreds of cutouts were stolen last year, so the company ordered extras this year.