Sunday night marked another night of civil unrest in the United States, the most violent protests in the country’s recent history. Peaceful protests gave way to rioting and looting, and details of the damages caused have started to emerge online.
The Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership in San Leandro, California, was just one of the many businesses across the U.S. ransacked by looters, as we informed you the other day. Its owner, Carlos Hidalgo, is telling the media that over 50 vehicles have been stolen, and almost every one of the high-end Dodge Challenger Hellcats he had in the showroom and adjoining parking spot.
Speaking with the CBS affiliate KPIX, Hidalgo says he knew the looters were coming for the dealership, so he instructed his staff to park cars in such a way as to block the entrance and, hopefully, discourage any attempt. It did not work. The looters broke inside and then into the safe used for keeping the keys, and drove off with dozens of vehicles.
These included nearly every $100,000 Hellcat on site, included a 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition. Thieves used some of the vehicles to smash their way through, out of the parking lot, and even drove one of the Hellcats in the showroom through the glass doors.
“We have trackers on them so we’re seeing which ones are out there. They’re running around everywhere. We tried calling the cops and they were too busy,” Hidalgo says. “They couldn’t respond. So, you know…”
Hidalgo says looting is “not a cause for anybody, this is just bad thieves,” and stresses that the considerable damage will further impact his staff of nearly 100 employees, all of whom have already been through the financial stress of the ongoing health crisis. From his interview, it doesn’t look like he’s hanging on hopes of ever recovering the vehicles.
Even if he does get some of those 50 cars back, they would hardly be any good. Footage posted to social media showed that most looters took the cars for joyrides and burnouts, smashing them against other vehicles and into whatever objects came their way. This was never about making money off them, but about having some fun in the context of the national unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News