WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The cold weather is making it easier for thieves to steal cars and a series of auto thefts proves it. A West Valley family found out the hard way today what can happen when they warm up their engine.
"I was inside for maybe two minutes,” says Katrina Nhan, a student who became a crime victim today before she ever made it to class.
"My mom started up the car earlier in the morning and it was locked,” says Katrina, explaining how the incident happened, practically under her nose. “And then before I went to school, I went to go switch the keys because she had a backup key to the car, and I went back inside the house and when I came back out it was gone."
A routine day, disrupted. A routine practice, exploited. A hard-working family, victimized. The Nhan family was understandably upset today.
Katrina says she was inside the house for two minutes. That was just enough time to swap keys with her mother. It was also enough time for a car thief to drive off.
Blocks away, an alert Taylorsville police officer noticed the red SUV being driven without headlights on and turned on his flashers. The joy rider sped away. The officer hung back and let his suspect's bad driving do the rest. The thief lost control on a turn and collided with a parked vehicle and then a wall.
“The officer was not aware that it was stolen,” says Taylorsville Police Sergeant Tracy Wyant. “The vehicle was attempted to be stopped initially for a traffic violation and then once the officer activated his emergency equipment the vehicle fled."
What happened today is a repeat of what happened Saturday, when someone stole an idling car and eventually crashed in the Jordan Canal.
Police say it is a seasonal crime, like shopping center theft and parking lot prowling. In colder temperatures, police say would-be criminals are looking for unoccupied cars and trucks with exhaust rising from the tail-pipes.
And so the warning from police: if you want to warm up your vehicle, don't invite a car thief to do it for you.
