Couple who stopped to help at Melbourne crash scene have their own car stolen
An act of kindness backfired spectacularly for a Melbourne couple who had their car was stolen when they pulled over to help at the scene of a crash.
A Melbourne couple who stopped to help at the scene of a dramatic crash have vowed never to act as good Samaritans again after their own car was stolen.
Samantha Petrevski and her partner Daniel Sperandio pulled over when they saw a Toyota Land Cruiser flipped on its side on Donnybrook Road, Donnybrook, at about 9pm on Thursday.
Dashcam footage shows the driver climbing out of the boot of the totalled four wheel drive and stumbling along the side of the road moments after the pair pulled over to render assistance.
“I think everyone was worried there may have been kids in the car,” Ms Petrevski told Nine News.
In their haste, the pair had left their red Holden Commodore unlocked with the keys on the dash. They were helping to direct traffic away from a diesel spill resulting from the incident when something completely unexpected happened.
“Someone screams out, ‘Who’s red car is that? He’s getting in it!’,” Ms Petrevski recounted.
“He gets in [the car], I start running, and the car just goes.”
Mr Sperandio jumped into the car of another witness and they trailed after the Commodore together.
While the Commodore was too fast to pursue safely, Mr Sperandio and the witness followed the trail of oil until they found the Commodore dumped on the side of the road.
They saw the alleged thief running off and briefly gave chase on foot before thinking better of it.
Police were unable to locate the man at scene but are now investigating. The Land Cruiser had been stolen earlier that day from Burnside Heights, about 40kms away.
“I’m not gonna stop ever again, I’m not gonna offer assistance to anyone, like it’s not worth it,” Ms Petrevski said.
Originally published as Couple who stopped to help at Melbourne crash scene have their own car stolen
