A gas station employee in Rimbey was dragged by a vehicle after he tried to stop someone who filled up and drove away without paying.

The "gas-and-dash" occurred at the self-serve Shell gas station in the central Alberta town at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

RCMP released this photo of the suspect and truck involved in a gas-and-dash in Rimbey, Alta. (RCMP ) RCMP say man driving a white Dodge Ram truck filled up an auxiliary tank with $300 of fuel. When the male gas station employee tried to grab the passenger side of the truck as it drove away, he was dragged a short distance to the road.

"He tried to get the vehicle to stop and he was injured in the process," said RCMP Const. Carman Dutz.

The man was taken to hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.

The suspect is described as a man in his 30s with a red Mohawk haircut, who was wearing black sunglasses and blue jeans at the time of theft.

The truck is a white Dodge pickup with a black sticker strip on the hood and a red auxiliary tank in the back. The vehicle was covered in dust and mud.

The truck was last seen in the area of Highway 20 and Range Road 15A.

Last year, the death of a Calgary gas station attendant who tried to stop a gas-and-dash renewed calls for Alberta to bring in prepaid gas legislation.

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety officers are currently performing random inspections of 200 gas bars and convenience stores across the province.

The province's labour ministry will use the results of those inspections as part of its review of workplace safety and employment standards. A spokesman for Labour Minister Christine Gray said the results may inform their next steps on prepaid gas legislation.