Stick Shift Stops Truck Thief

Estimated read time 2 min read

We’ve covered a few times before when would-be car thieves haven’t been able to drive a vehicle with a stick shift. Well, it’s happened again, this time in Boulder, Colorado.

1980s high school car culture sure was different.

According to the Boulder Police Department, the attempted theft took place just after 4:30 pm on May 3. Police received a call about a pickup truck which crashed into a fire hydrant, finding a female behind the wheel.

It didn’t take long for officers to realize she had stolen the truck, couldn’t handle the clutch, and crashed. Her age isn’t mentioned, but we have a funny feeling she’s younger. Back in the day there were more stick shifts and so more, not all, older people can at least somewhat use them.

For whatever reason, we’d like to think for comedic relief, the owner of the truck had left the keys in it. After all, it has a stick shift, so the owner probably figured it was safe. And for the most part it was. Judging by the shot of the center console police shared, we’re guessing it has steel bumpers so the fire hydrant likely did little damage.

Here’s the real kicker in this story: police say the female suspect had just been released from jail for stealing a car the prior day. We see this constantly with car thieves who just get caught, released, and almost immediately steal another ride.

The owner got the truck back immediately and the suspect as well as bystanders weren’t hurt. She’s now facing a long list of charges, so police pretty much threw the book at her. The would-be thief also got a lesson in trying to drive stick shift. Plus she earned yet another night’s stay with a warm bed and somewhat passable food.

Image via Boulder Police Department/Facebook

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Steven Symes https://writerstevensymes.com/

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.

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