Dealer car stolen
with keys inside crashes 1.5 hours later
Staff writer
Hillsboro police are reviewing business and home security videos from 3:10 to 4:30 a.m. Aug. 5 in an attempt to find out who stole a car from a dealership parking lot before crashing it into a utility pole.
A 2023 Ford Edge that had been parked unlocked with its key inside Aug. 2 was stolen from the front parking area at Hillsboro Ford.
Hillsboro Police Chief Jessey Hiebert said the car was used as a rental car and loaner for customers getting work done on their car.
Apparently no employees had thought to check whether the key had been returned, Hiebert said.
Hiebert described the incident as “a joyride.”
That’s until the car crashed into the utility pole in the 100 block of N. Birch St.
Hiebert said the car’s grill, hood, and fender were damaged, and the radiator was leaking coolant.
The collision apparently happened at a low rate of speed because air bags did not deploy, he said.
A collision alert, part of the car’s technology package, alerted police to the accident.
Police have been able to track the car’s movements around town but still are investigating, Hiebert said.