[Shotimes] OT: Sneaking car out doesn't pay!

[Josh Salaets]

Hey Everyone,

Have I got a story for you all!

It was about 2:00 this morning when I was on my way over to a friend's house
after watching The Two Towers (excellent, btw) when I see an older BMW 325i
roll out of a driveway in front of me with the lights off.  I wonder what's
going on, and as I get closer, I see one kid closing the gate while the other
was in the driver's seat.  I knew EXACTLY what they were doing - they were
rolling the car out of the driveway and weren't going to start it until they
got further away from the house.  I thought about honking just to ruin their
"escape," but remembered my high school days and avoided the temptation.

I get to my friend's house, see is is asleep, so I head back home on the same
road I had just saw those kids.  As I was driving home I was thinking I'd
probably run across them at some point and kept a close eye out.  Well sure
enough, as I round one of the sharper corners on this road I see the car in
the ditch on the wrong side of the road and the two kids flagging me down.
They wanted to use my phone because they couldn't get a signal on theirs, and
were hoping to get ahold of one of their older brothers to help them out.  My
cell phone didn't work either.

After inspecting the damage - left front fender was bent up, suspension on
that side was buckled under, large chunks of wheel were missing, and fuel was
leaking out of the tank - I realized the car was not coming out under its own
power, so I offered to take them back to their parents house.  Obviously this
wasn't what they really wanted, but having no other choice, they agreed.

On the way to their house the kid that owned the car was freaking out, saying
the road was a lot slicker than he thought, his dad was going to kill him, and
that he had big plans for that car.  He was also complaining about his back,
so the impact was probably harder than it looked.  I just told them both that
the important thing was that they were okay, and the car can always be fixed.
I also find out that he had just got his license and the car last summer.

The whole time I am thinking how ironic it was that they had snuck the car out
only to end up in the ditch and have to wake their parents up to tell them
what happened and to get the car out.  If I had only honked my horn, their
plan would have been foiled and his parents would have been pissed, but I'm
sure not as mad as they are right now!  I am sure both of them are in the
process of getting the chewing out of their lifetime as I type this!

What really takes the cake on the whole situation is that they wrecked on the
SAME corner a friend of mine did back in high school - the same one that I was
going to go see tonight.  And can anyone guess what he was doing?  Sneaking
his parents GLH out at 15 after school while his parents were at work!
Unfortunately he tipped the car on its side and did much more damage, and to
add insult to injury, a close friend of his parents happened to drive by and
see the car in the ditch, so his dad knew even before he got home!

I couldn't help but laugh to myself during the whole ordeal, but at the same
time empathize with them both.  I had been in the same situation as them twice
during my early driving years, but luckily both times the car came right out
of the ditch under its own power and suffered no damage, so my parents never
knew! : )

I'm just glad I was able to get there and help them out before a cop happened
by and really gave them crap and likely several tickets for being out past
curfew, wreckless driving, etc.  I think they learned their lesson and will
pay a hefty enough price without having to deal with the cops, who would have
done nothing but add to the fire when they showed up at the door with the
kids!

Moral of the story:  If you're going to sneak a car out, DO NOT drive that
road! : )

Josh Salaets
95 SHO MTX (I SHO U)
85 Omni GLH-T (Yeah, it's fast)
NWSHOC Member
Eugene, OR