Smashing Detective Work After Vehicle Reported Stolen

by Mindy Cohn

The NYPD received a report of a stolen vehicle that the owner had located on 13th Avenue and 44th Street. The front of the car was completely smashed after what appeared to have been a collision but with no evidence of when, where, or how.

After being asked by NYPD to allow access to his store's video footage from around 1:15 a.m. last night, the proprietor of Satmar Meat called Shomrim to be on hand for assistance.

While on his way over to assist, Shomrim received a call from a frantic car owner who had gone outside and found his car in terrible shape on 14th Avenue and 45th Street. Someone had plowed into it, but he had no idea how it had happened.

Holding the missing pieces to the puzzle before even being on-site to assess the situation, the Shomrim member was able to assist the NYPD in locating the appropriate camera footage to see the 'stolen' vehicle on camera driving down 45th Street. Footage was located where an individual can be seen getting out from the car parked in front of Satmar Meat.

When shown the footage, the owner of the car admitted he had loaned his car to a friend. The friend was not taking the calls of the car's owner but was clearly responsible for the incident, which did not involve a stolen vehicle but rather a hit and run, as further video evidence confirmed.

NYPD towed away the car in front of 13th Avenue and 44th Street for further investigation.