Two men are sharing their story after they went from being Good Samaritans, helping a victim at a crash scene, to being victims of a brazen theft.
Jeff MacPhee and Kelton Ross came upon an accident in downtown Sydney on Monday and were quick to lend a hand at the scene.
“We pulled over to assist him to make sure everything was OK and he was,” says MacPhee. “We parked the vehicle to the side. The next thing I know I got into the vehicle to leave and mine and my co-workers wallets were missing from the truck.”
MacPhee says he usually locks his doors, but both he and Ross acted quickly when they arrived at the crash scene.
“That’s what you get for being a Good Samaritan,” says Ross. “You stop to help someone and end up being robbed blind right next to you, especially with all the authorities around, fire, EHS, all on scene, and someone would actually go and do that.”
MacPhee and Ross are mechanics and were on their lunch break at the time of the incident. They say their lunch break quickly turned into a marathon afternoon.
“We pretty well lost a full day’s work going around town to banks, Department of Motor Vehicles to get IDs renewed and cancelling other things,” says Ross. “It’s been an ongoing headache, really, and costly too.”
MacPhee says he saw one man in the area at the time, but isn’t certain who entered his truck.
“The truck is locked anywhere I go now. Windows are up, there’s nothing in sight now,” he says. “It is an eye-opener. It’s a little bit of shock to think twice about what you do and what you leave lying around.”
A little more than $100 in cash was taken, but they say they will miss their personal items most.
“Like family pictures, credentials you accumulated over the years, all kinds of personal things you keep in your wallet,” says Ross. “A lot of them can’t be replaced.”
Both men say they have reported the incident to police. The theft remains under investigation, but police say they have no leads at this time.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
