Image via WSMV 4 Nashville/YouTube
The whole vehicle theft situation is affecting more than just passenger vehicles. We’ve seen an uptick in thefts of tow trucks, first responder vehicles, construction equipment, and yes even semi-trucks. A man in Lebanon, Tennessee snuck onto an auction lot and took a semi which had the keys left inside.
Truck driver intentionally crashes through grocery store.
It all went down at Ritchason Auctioneers back on June 7. A surveillance camera captured the guy just waltzing up to a line of semis after he hopped a fence, getting inside one, and driving off. He crashed through a security gate, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
While this wasn’t a high-value heist – the semi-truck is only valued at about $15,000 – the auction company is concerned. After all, it has cameras all over, dedicated security, and employs off-duty deputies before large auctions when the lot is full of millions of dollars worth of machinery.
How the guy was able to get to the truck undetected isn’t entirely clear. And the semi-truck hasn’t been seen since.
Ritchason Auctioneers owner Summer Ritchason told WSMV that she’s concerned about the theft and how it makes her business look. “We want our customers to know that their items, we treat them like they are our items. We have plenty of security, and we don’t think this is going to be a continuous issue.”
Hopefully this is just an isolated incident and not the start of a new trend.
WSMV says local police have noticed an uptick in semi-truck thefts, believing the auction lot wasn’t specifically targeted by the thief. The belief is a truck theft ring is operating in the area. We’ve seen different theft rings which concentrate on a specific type of vehicle before, so that doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Ritchason did note that in the days leading up to auctions, keys are left in trucks so people can test them out. Perhaps that policy will have to be revisited in light of this theft?
Image via WSMV 4 Nashville/YouTube
