RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond resident is heading into the new year without a car as she says it was stolen on Christmas Day.
Linda Copeland, 42, said she had just finished dinner with her family and friends on Dec. 25 when her friend had told her that her car was missing. Copeland stepped outside to take a look for herself, learning that her car was stolen.
“My friend went to the trash can to take out the trash and he said, ‘Linda, where’s your car?’ I said, ‘my car is out there.’ He said, ‘No, it’s not,” Copeland said.
Copeland wasted no time filing a report to the Richmond Police Department, who were able to retrieve the car.
“A policewoman called me she said ‘your car, we found your car!’ I said praise God! She said ‘but you can’t move it, you can’t drive it.” I said “Oh my goodness,” Copeland said.
After police found the car, it was towed to the Department’s impound lot located at the Southside Plaza.
When Copeland went to look at her car, she saw the windows had been put down and the steering wheel column had been torn off — causing the vehicle to be immobile.
The make and model of the vehicle is a 2014 Hyundai Sonata, which is reported by the manufacturer to be increasingly susceptible to thefts due to it not having a push-button ignition.
Copeland said she uses her car for church, a part-time job to supplement her income along with community work. Without it, it is difficult to maneuver as she said she has a sciatic hip leaving her with 80% of ongoing pain in her body.
“I call my son or somebody to take me [somewhere] and I’m a person who always been independent,” Copeland said. “I’m feeling like I’m worrying someone if I call them, but everybody’s been so wonderful —they’ve offered help if I need to go somewhere.
The car theft has brought a lot of stress onto Copeland as she said she is not too savvy with technology and the incident has created issues that requires her to go online to address and fix.
Copeland also said she does not know what the outcome will be once her car is towed to her mechanic’s repair shop. If it turns out to be a total loss, she said she won’t have the funds for a new car.
As of Dec. 29, Copeland has not received any updates by police about who stole her car.
According to Richmond Police officials, 1,596 motor vehicle thefts have occurred as of December 29, 2023, with 941 reported in 2022 — making this year’s vehicle thefts a 73% increase from last year.
