A man attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a parked SUV in Palmdale, California was run over and killed when the vehicle’s sleeping driver woke up from a nap and started to drive away, police said. Oh dear! Via WNDU:
Arriving deputies found a Ford Excursion partially backed out of a parking stall, a man lying on the ground and a smaller vehicle in the next parking stall.
The department said the Excursion driver was asleep when the smaller vehicle pulled up and one of the four people inside got out and began sawing the catalytic converter off the Ford.
“The victim woke up from the sound, turned the car on, put the vehicle in reverse, and felt a bump like she ran something over,” the department said. “She stopped immediately, leaving the suspect on the ground after running him over.”
Well, my mother raised me to say a prayer when someone is killed.
Okay, done. Now can we talk about this latest scourge upon the land? Catalytic converter thieves are EVERYWHERE. And catalytic converters are expensive, because of the rare metals inside that make them so attractive to thieves.
Add to that the fact that in most big cities, this is not considered an important crime -- as people who have recorded the culprits, license plate and all, found out.
No, this man did not "deserve" to die. But neither did this car owner "deserve" an unanticipated $2000 repair bill to replace her catalytic converter.
