A Tampa family credits poor back-up skills and lousy driving as the reason why their SUV wasn’t stolen.
Two pillars and a couple of trash cans were enough to keep car thieves from pulling out of the driveway and taking off with the Nissan Rogue.
“They were trying to wedge it out in between here, and they hit that pillar, so it damaged the back of the car,” Loura Howey said. They pulled forward and hit the house here. Got it hooked on the chimney.”
The SUV got stuck on the corner of the brick fireplace. The thieves tried backing up to break free but ripped off the front end, and in the process woke up the family.
“We were sleeping. I heard a noise and felt kind of the house shake and you are startled awake. Our eight-year-old was screaming for us,” Howey said.
The crime was on Jan. 19. Howey said the video is the best evidence Tampa Police have and hope someone will recognize the men and come forward to claim the $3,000 Crimestoppers reward.
“For me, it’s about our eight-year-old, because he was sleeping on the couch, by the wall that they hit and he was terrified,” Howey said. “So it’s taken him almost two months to want to be alone in the room by himself. If they were to steal a car and get into a chase and hit someone or kill someone, I think it’s really important that we find them, so someone doesn’t get hurt.”
The SUV cost nearly $8,000 to fix.
“I was angry of course,” Howey said. “To think they were going to try and wedge it through there is kind of crazy. Like I said it (Rogue) has a 360-degree camera, and they still couldn’t do it, they are pretty inept.”
