The stolen van involved in Wednesday night's fatal collision was unlocked and running when it was taken by thieves at a downtown Winnipeg burger joint, sources said yesterday.
The owner left the keys in the ignition of the 1993 Plymouth Voyager while he was ordering a burger and fries at V.J.'s Drive-In on Tuesday around 9 p.m., sources and restaurant staff said.
"We were just chit-chatting and then he went outside and came back in and said, 'Where's my van?'" said cook John Calegoris. "It was just a matter of minutes. I was like, 'Oh my goodness.'"
Source. Obviously the thieves have a greater degree of responsibility for the deaths of those women, but the van onwer wasn't innocent either. I've been tempted to print up signs that say "FREE CAR" and leave them on the windshields of vehicles that people leave idling, though I wonder if you could be charged with mischief for that.