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Car stolen after it is left running outside Park City store

Victim jumps away to avoid being hit as thief speeds away

Someone in Park City in late November stole a car that was left with the engine running while the driver was in a convenience store, the Park City Police Department said, indicating the person attempted to stop the theft but had to jump away to avoid being hit as the vehicle drove off.

The vehicle, a light green 2006 Volvo XC 90, was found abandoned in the city the next day, the police said. Auto thefts are only occasionally reported in Park City, and it is unusual that a vehicle is found so soon after it was taken and in the vicinity of the theft itself. The case was reported to the Police Department at 7:43 p.m. on Nov. 30 on the 1700 block of Sidewinder Drive.

Phil Kirk, a police captain, said the vehicle was left running in the parking lot of the convenience store when the driver, a man, went inside. A store clerk saw the man run outside believing someone was stealing the vehicle. The clerk called 911 and the police arrived shortly after the call.

The police spoke to the owner of the vehicle at the store. He acknowledged leaving the vehicle running, saying he saw there was nobody in the store, Kirk said.

“When he was paying for merchandise, he saw a male jump into his car,” Kirk said.

The person exited the store and stood in front of the vehicle in an attempt to stop the theft, Kirk said. He “jumped out of the way as the vehicle sped off,” the Police Department said in an online posting.

The vehicle drove toward Kearns Boulevard. Kirk said the suspect is a Hispanic man wearing a white turtleneck shirt.

Police investigators spoke to the victim at a nearby restaurant. The victim called police dispatchers at a little bit before 7 p.m. the next day reporting he located the vehicle on Little Bessie Drive, about a mile from where it was taken, Kirk said. The police confirmed it was the vehicle that was reported stolen and released it to the victim, a 43-year-old who lives in Prospector.

The Police Department continues to investigate the case as a suspected auto theft.

Kirk said someone should not leave a vehicle running when they go into a store or when it is in a driveway warming up. He also said a victim of an auto theft should not attempt to stop the vehicle as the man did outside the store, describing someone could be seriously injured or killed by the vehicle.

“Very dangerous. You’re dealing with a moving vehicle and a suspect who’s intent on stealing it,” Kirk said.

Anybody with information may contact the Police Department at 615-5500.

Park City


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