It’s stressful leaving a luxury car in the hands of someone else or out in the open where it can be stolen. Unfortunately, a customer at a car wash in California became too comfortable and was shocked when a thief entered their BMW and drove off within seconds. Police is still looking for more information on the suspect.
Surveillance footage shows man swiping BMW within seconds
On October 17 in the afternoon, a man was caught on surveillance video stealing a BMW X5 SUV valued over $100,000 at the Autopia Car Wash on Dublin Boulevard, according to a report by KTVU.
J.R. Ibarra says that his wife had purchased the luxury car for his mother-in-law and that his nephew had dropped the BMW off at the car wash to be washed. The business allows customers to leave their keys in their vehicles at the location and sit at a location nearby as they wait for them to be go through the car wash.
However, that leaves an opening for a thief to exploit the situation. Video shows a man casually walking up to the BMW, opening the driver’s seat door, and then driving off the lot by making a quick U-turn. That’s all it took.
“My nephew was sitting here, where everybody sits. You drop off your car, you leave your keys like in the seat, it’s part of the process,” Ibarra recounted. “And so nobody was watching the car for a few seconds, and he walked up to the car, opened the door really calmly, and just drove away.”
Ibarra said he was shocked that this happened because patrons often leave their car keys inside their vehicles at the car wash. He said, “The patrons that come here feel really comfortable, like they know all the employees, and everybody leaves their keys in the seat. So, you know, you don’t expect your car to get stolen here.”
The owner of the car wash, Burges Kerawalla, says the business prefers that customers remain inside their vehicles and wait for an attendant to arrive. The business says that is cooperating with local law enforcement during the investigation and is in contact with the vehicle’s owner.
Witnesses say the thief has a distinctive tattoo of an Aztec calendar on his stomach. At the time of writing, the suspect has not been identified or located.
