FREDERICK, Colo. -- An inmate who was being transported to a prison in Hasting, Nebraska from Boulder was able to slip out of his handcuffs and steal a prison transport van Wednesday morning.

Taj Mosley, 18, was being transferred to a prison in Hastings to face aggravated assault charges. He was being held in Boulder on a misdemeanor theft charge.

At the Conoco gas station along Highway 52 and I-25 in Frederick, Mosley slipped out of his handcuffs while the driver of the transfer van was filling the vehicle up.

Once out, Mosley locked the doors to the van.

The driver tried banging on the windows and then he yelled for help. A man named John Weber came to his assistance.

"The [inmate] was able to get the van started," Weber said. "He took off with the driver on the hood. If he wasn't driving as fast, chances are he would have run the driver over."

The driver of the van flipped over the hood and sustained minor injuries.

Mosley took off down the road, about a mile away from the gas station. He ended up in a field. Weber and two other men went after him.

"Where did I chase him? All through these fields," Weber said.

Eventually Mosley gave up.

"He looked pretty shaken up," Weber said. "He was mumbling something about a warrant".

Officers took Mosley in to custody.

He will likely face additional charges for trying to escape.

KUSA