Act of kindness for single mom, after tires stripped from car
A St. John's single mom has received an offer of help from a car dealer, after her tires and rims were stripped from her car while it was parked outside an apartment building on Freshwater Road.
Shelley Bailey told CBC News she is one of several tenants whose vehicles were targeted overnight Sunday or early Monday morning.
"When I opened my living room window curtains, my superintendents were standing around my car," Bailey said.
When she texted them, they replied, "Your tires and rims have been stolen, honey."
Bailey said a neighbour saw "someone suspicious" around her silver Volkswagon around 7:30 a.m.
"What I've heard is that five vehicles in total were affected," she said.
"They took the tire out of my superintendent's truck, wheeled it to my car and propped it under the back so they could take the tires from my car," said Bailey.
"Another car here just behind me, they stole the jack from the neighbouring car to hers, jacked her car up — the jack still remains under the car — and took her back tires."
Bailey said another car on the back parking lot is missing a tire, and a fifth had its battery stolen.
Offer of help
After a friend posted her story on Twitter and Bailey was interviewed by CBC Radio, she got a phone call.
"Dan Matthews of Bill Matthews [Volkswagen] called me personally on my home phone and said that he is going to replace the tires on my vehicle," she said.
The cost of replacing her tires would have been $600 to $1,000, she said.
"So yesterday was a day of sorrow. Today there's a bit of a happy ending to a very sad story."
As there are no surveillance camera on the apartment building, Bailey said police told her they have nothing to go on to find the thief or thieves.
She said the owners of the building "laughed at her" when she asked them to install cameras.
"It's not a very comfortable feeling. I mean, I can't be looking out my window 24 hours a day," said Bailey.
Neighbour Don Pearce, a pensioner, said his car was vandalized and his fiancee's brother's car was broken into, and wrenches were stolen along with the jack used to take tires off another car.
Pearce thinks the building was being watched before the thefts happened, and now he is worried.
"We can't stay up all night and watch our cars," he said.
"I got a lot of appointments, I went through cancer and that car is very crucial to me."
Pearce said the tenants may circulate a petition to ask the landlords to take measures to improve security.
