Last week, Francisco Yepez saw two cars crash right in front of him, and pulled over to help. What did he get in return? The driver who caused the wreck got out and stole his truck.
Around 4 AM last Saturday morning, Yepez, 64, was coming home from work and following a van weaving over the center line on the Bayonne Bridge. The New York Post reports that Yepez tried honking at the van to wake up the driver, but it was no use; the van crashed head-on into a VW Passat with a 27-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman onboard.
Yepez pulled his Dodge truck over to the side of the road to help the victims of the crash when he saw the van driver stumble out. The man told Yepez that he was okay, that he didn't have a driver's license, and then asked if Yepez could "get him out of there."
Yepez refused and went to check on the people in the Volkswagen. Then he heard the sound of his Dodge revving, and turned to see the pickup speeding away.
I said, ‘My God! He's stolen my car!
Yepez flagged down another car and rode to the nearest tollbooth to report the accident and theft. Authorities found his truck about two miles away, perhaps thanks to its "SALSA" custom plates. Luckily, the Dodge was in one piece.
The occupants in the Passat were hospitalized in serious condition and the instigator of the crash is still on the loose.
Yepez is understandably pessimistic about the whole ordeal.
I give you help, and he stole my car…You can't trust nobody.
Photo Credit: Patrick Damiano