A North Carolina man was killed after the vehicle he was trying to steal from fell on top of him.
At approximately 5:45 PM on Wednesday, several Union County Sheriff’s Office deputies, detectives, and crime scene investigators responded to a residence in the 3900 block of West Unionville Indian Trail Road in order to conduct a death investigation. Upon arriving at the scene, UCSO officials found a male victim deceased underneath a Toyota Prius sedan which was one of many vehicles in the driveway of the residence.
Detectives found evidence on the scene that would indicate the male was in the process of cutting off and stealing the catalytic converter belonging to the Toyota Prius prior to his death. The findings on the scene indicated that at some point during the cutting of the exhaust pipe, the vehicle fell off of the automotive jack and on top of the man. The man, however, was not a resident of the home where he was found dead.
The UCSO hopes that the distribution of this information will highlight the dangers associated with the theft of motor vehicle parts and will serve to discourage anyone actively involved in this type of criminal activity. A catalytic converter and the small amount of scrap value it holds is not worth the risk of losing your life. The identity of the dead man will not be released at this time due to the ongoing investigation being conducted, The Union County Sheriff’s Office wrote on its Facebook page.
