Good Samaritan forgives man that stole his car and led police on cross-county pursuit
The Good Samaritan that had his car stolen by a homeless man said that he does not want to press charges against him. In fact, he wants to continue to help him make it back home.
While he did not want to speak on camera with KCAL News' sister station in Bakersfield, KBAK, the Good Samaritan said that he met the man that would later steal his car via FaceTime.
According to the man, his 70-year-old mother picked up the homeless man after seeing him screaming and crying on the side of the road. She drove the unhoused resident to her sister's home in Bakersfield, while her son talked to him. The Good Samaritan said he showered him with compliments after the distressed man kept saying that he was worthless over FaceTime.
The mother took him to her sister's home and gave him food, clothes as well as money before taking him to Planet Fitness to shower.
They treated the stranger like one of their own, taking him to a Fourth of July fireworks show. The next day they bought Amtrak tickets to take him from Bakersfield to Los Angeles but ultimately decided to drive him down the Grapevine and into the city of angels.
Right before starting their road trip, the homeless man stole the Good Samaritan's car while he said goodbye to his family. While the theft happened just before 2:10 p.m. the humanitarian didn't call the police until 3 p.m. because he believed a human was worth more than the car. However, his wife urged him to call the police.
The ensuing chase led officers from Bakersfield to L.A. County and ended on the freeway after California Highway Patrol implemented a PIT maneuver and disabled the car. The suspect surrendered and officers brought him into custody.
The Good Samaritan does not believe the homeless man should be charged with a felony and refuses to acknowledge him as a criminal.
He seemed to actually forgive him and hopes to take him to his home in Big Bear.