Modern technology is really a powerful thing, and once again it pulled through, this time helping rescue a stolen ‘Vette. On Monday night, a man turned his test drive into a crime scene, but had what was probably the drive of his life cut short. The brand new C7 was equipped with OnStar, which was used to track the vehicle and then remotely activate a kill-switch, rendering the car immobile on the freeway.
The theft took place at the Bunnin Chevrolet dealership in Culver City, California (just west of Los Angeles). According to KTLA 5 News, the man had entered the Corvette for his test drive, slammed the door on the sales clerk’s hand, and sped off. Police were unable to immediately track the criminal but, after speaking with personnel at the dealership and contacting OnStar, managed to locate and remotely cut power to the ‘Vette via the onboard OnStar equipment.
By that time, it had been two hours since the thief made off with the car, and he’d gotten himself all the way to Riverside County. Thanks to OnStar, he was stopped dead in his tracks, the police were able to remove him from the vehicle without much trouble and place him into custody. His name hasn’t been released, but authorities have stated that he’s looking at charges for grand theft auto and carjacking at the minimum.
As far as the salesman who had his hand crushed, he suffered only superficial injuries, according to KTLA. The official statement is that it is unclear how the thief got a hold of the car key, but common sense points toward the assaulted salesman having something to do with it.
Corvettes, be they old or new, are highly desirable cars. They’re not necessarily the most stolen cars, but they do make the list of costly car thefts – with the Z06 suffering the highest per claim theft payment of any stolen vehicle (an average of over $41,000 paid per claim).
‘Vettes are precious things, and luckily for the Bunnin Chevy dealership, OnStar was able to save theirs. You’d be wise to make use of OnStar (or any other anti-theft system) in your Corvette, and keep something like this from happening to you.