MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Car thieves tried to steal a Whitehaven woman’s Hyundai Elantra for the second time in three weeks but were stopped again by a steering wheel lock.
The victim, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, said when she walked out of her house Saturday morning, she noticed her windshield wipers were on, and her back driver’s side window was broken.
Toni said the thieves managed to get inside her 2013 Elantra and crack her steering wheel column to start the car but couldn’t get the Hyundai out of her driveway because of the club.
“I asked my neighbor to allow me to see their video, and on the video, it shows where someone in a cream-colored Hyundai broke into my vehicle and tried to take it, and they weren’t successful, and they pulled off,” said Toni.
On May 21, someone was also caught camera breaking into Toni’s car outside her work in the Orange Mound area.
In the surveillance video released by police, you can see juveniles try the door handles of cars parked in the 1100 block of Rutland Road. You can also see one teen enter Toni’s red Hyundai Elantra and drive it several feet forward.
The thief suddenly stops the vehicle and gets out with the engine still running and the wipers on.
Police said the thieves were able to break a window to get inside the car and crack the steering wheel column to start it, but the lock on the steering wheel prevented them from turning the vehicle.
Toni said she can’t afford to get the steering wheel column repaired right now and is having difficulty finding glass to replace her window.
“I cannot find it because so many people’s cars are getting broken into and stolen,” she said. “Even if you try to go to the junkyard, it’s very hard to find because they are breaking the same glass on all the cars.”
Toni said she works hard for what she has and is just trying to get from point A to B every day in her car.
‘There is other stuff you can do. Go out and work for what you would like instead of trying to take someone else’s stuff,” Toni said. “Please, stop breaking my windows. I would really appreciate it.”
Toni said the car thieves in the cream Hyundai crashed their vehicle at Fairley High School right behind her house. Police have not confirmed any arrests in the case.