Found this article in Sunday's SJ Mercury News. Those of you in N Cal, you may have heard about this gentleman's unfortunate prized Mustang. I hope this doesn't happen to me. I wish him the best in getting up and running again.
Couldn't paste the URL 'cause of some quirk with the paper's web page.
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For S.J. man, dream car's theft results in nightmare
By Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
Roy Kelsey's dream car looks more like a crumpled beer can than a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback.
The car came home to San Jose from an East Bay tow yard with its radiator wrapped around the engine, which Kelsey imagines saved the engine. There are other disturbing reminders of a crash: A blood-caked hat on the seat, a cell phone, blood on the ceiling.
Kelsey, a 66-year-old out-of-work tech engineer, sank about $30,000 into his vintage hot rod in fatter times, before he lost his job, before those kids slammed it into the side of a Richmond motor home. The car lacked insurance when it was ******ed in March. Kelsey has bills to pay. He and his wife are renovating their home.
Add to that repairing his dream car.
``I'm trying to scrape it together, piece by piece. It's going to take a long time,'' Kelsey said. ``It's something I did with my spare time and money when I was working.''
The insurance company won't pay. Unfortunately for Kelsey, he inadvertently let his comprehensive coverage lapse while working on the car for an extended period at his home. He never finished, as one of the alleged car thieves found out.
San Leandro resident Deshon Julian Laimont, 24, was driving the car when he got into an accident. A less-than-secure racing harness detached on impact, police said.
A spoke from the steering wheel punctured Laimont beneath his chin and pushed up into his face, police said. Laimont is recovering and may soon face criminal charges. The California Highway Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team has completed its report and will forward it to Contra Costa County prosecutors next week, CHP Sgt. Wayne Ziese said.
A Richmond police officer spotted the Mustang racing with another car in excess of 100 mph on Carlson Boulevard about 8 p.m. March 16. Officers caught up near 23rd Street and Broadway Avenue, where the drivers stopped to spin doughnuts in the intersection.
Laimont made eye contact and smiled at the officer before zooming away, according to police reports. A few blocks up the road, at Carlson and Cutting boulevards, the car broadsided a motor home at 90 mph to 100 mph.
Laimont and 22-year-old Oakland resident Alonzo Moore went to the hospital with critical injuries. Both survived.
``It's basically a street-legal race car. Basically, those guys must not have known how to drive it,'' Kelsey said. ``Because if they did, there's no way the cops could have kept up with it.''
At considerable expense, Kelsey modified the Mustang to make it a Shelby Cobra, installing vintage and faux-vintage parts and a roll cage, racing harnesses and racing dials in the dashboard. The car's top speed was about 150 mph, he said.
Somebody rolled the car out of his McKendrie Street driveway the night of March 6, hot-wired it and stole it. Kelsey's wife noticed it missing the next afternoon.
Few people want their cars back after the Major Accident Investigation Team finishes with them, which may account for the surprise Kelsey encountered as he badgered various police agencies about his car in March and April. He readied his garage and finally got the car back last month.
Repairing his car will be expensive, and Kelsey cannot pay. He lives on a fixed income, and can only buy parts occasionally and one at a time.
But there's an emotional investment, he admits. He has invested so much money and time. And maybe the car helps him remember his younger days. And maybe it's just a blast to drive.
Whatever the reason, Kelsey remains quietly committed to driving his 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback again, no matter how long it takes.
``This was what I ended up with after 40 years of working in high-tech in the valley. I used to drive down to Big Sur all the time. The kids all just absolutely drool on it,'' Kelsey said. ``I just really, really enjoy it.''
Couldn't paste the URL 'cause of some quirk with the paper's web page.
------------------
For S.J. man, dream car's theft results in nightmare
By Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
Roy Kelsey's dream car looks more like a crumpled beer can than a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback.
The car came home to San Jose from an East Bay tow yard with its radiator wrapped around the engine, which Kelsey imagines saved the engine. There are other disturbing reminders of a crash: A blood-caked hat on the seat, a cell phone, blood on the ceiling.
Kelsey, a 66-year-old out-of-work tech engineer, sank about $30,000 into his vintage hot rod in fatter times, before he lost his job, before those kids slammed it into the side of a Richmond motor home. The car lacked insurance when it was ******ed in March. Kelsey has bills to pay. He and his wife are renovating their home.
Add to that repairing his dream car.
``I'm trying to scrape it together, piece by piece. It's going to take a long time,'' Kelsey said. ``It's something I did with my spare time and money when I was working.''
The insurance company won't pay. Unfortunately for Kelsey, he inadvertently let his comprehensive coverage lapse while working on the car for an extended period at his home. He never finished, as one of the alleged car thieves found out.
San Leandro resident Deshon Julian Laimont, 24, was driving the car when he got into an accident. A less-than-secure racing harness detached on impact, police said.
A spoke from the steering wheel punctured Laimont beneath his chin and pushed up into his face, police said. Laimont is recovering and may soon face criminal charges. The California Highway Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team has completed its report and will forward it to Contra Costa County prosecutors next week, CHP Sgt. Wayne Ziese said.
A Richmond police officer spotted the Mustang racing with another car in excess of 100 mph on Carlson Boulevard about 8 p.m. March 16. Officers caught up near 23rd Street and Broadway Avenue, where the drivers stopped to spin doughnuts in the intersection.
Laimont made eye contact and smiled at the officer before zooming away, according to police reports. A few blocks up the road, at Carlson and Cutting boulevards, the car broadsided a motor home at 90 mph to 100 mph.
Laimont and 22-year-old Oakland resident Alonzo Moore went to the hospital with critical injuries. Both survived.
``It's basically a street-legal race car. Basically, those guys must not have known how to drive it,'' Kelsey said. ``Because if they did, there's no way the cops could have kept up with it.''
At considerable expense, Kelsey modified the Mustang to make it a Shelby Cobra, installing vintage and faux-vintage parts and a roll cage, racing harnesses and racing dials in the dashboard. The car's top speed was about 150 mph, he said.
Somebody rolled the car out of his McKendrie Street driveway the night of March 6, hot-wired it and stole it. Kelsey's wife noticed it missing the next afternoon.
Few people want their cars back after the Major Accident Investigation Team finishes with them, which may account for the surprise Kelsey encountered as he badgered various police agencies about his car in March and April. He readied his garage and finally got the car back last month.
Repairing his car will be expensive, and Kelsey cannot pay. He lives on a fixed income, and can only buy parts occasionally and one at a time.
But there's an emotional investment, he admits. He has invested so much money and time. And maybe the car helps him remember his younger days. And maybe it's just a blast to drive.
Whatever the reason, Kelsey remains quietly committed to driving his 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback again, no matter how long it takes.
``This was what I ended up with after 40 years of working in high-tech in the valley. I used to drive down to Big Sur all the time. The kids all just absolutely drool on it,'' Kelsey said. ``I just really, really enjoy it.''
