Homeless Man Crashes Stolen Car Into House
NORTH SIDE (KDKA) - In an effort to get warm, a homeless man stole a car and eventually crashed into a house on the North Side Wednesday morning.
The car was stolen out of the parking lot at the Uni-Mart in Troy Hill.
"I went in there about 11:30. I got a pop. I wasn't even in there a whole minute, came back out and the parking lot was completely empty," Matt Trischler said.
Trischler's 2005 Pontiac G6 had been stolen. However, it would show up about an 90 minutes later at the intersection of Lowrie and Roessler Streets.
"I saw my car was wrecked into another car and almost into a house," Trischler said.
According to police, Damon Cruz Bey was behind the wheel.
"We're not going to chase someone going 55 mph on back streets just to catch a stolen car," Reserve Township Police Sergeant Daniel Giebel said. "At no time was there a high-speed chase."
Bey was arrested at the scene and the house suffered minor damage. Luckily, no one inside was injured.
He told police the car was too tempting of a target on a cold night.
"He was homeless. He was cold. He was tired of being out in the street," Sergeant Giebel said.
"I guess it's a good thing I kept it on for him to keep him warm. Maybe he should check himself into a shelter. I don't think other people's cars is a good idea, especially if you can't drive it," Trischler said.
Bey is facing numerous charges including auto theft.
Trischler said he's learned a valuable lesson and that is to never leave your car running while unattended.
