Surveillance video shows a man rolling a vintage Ford Mustang convertible from a Lake Highlands family’s driveway.
If a car could be a family member, for J.W. "Dubber" Hammet, his 1965 red Ford Mustang convertible was it.
"One of my sons, that's the first car he came home from the hospital in," said Hammet, of Dallas.
Hammet said 30 years ago he bought the Mustang and then rebuilt it and gave it to his wife as a present.
"She was thrilled! She was thrilled. She knew I'd be driving it half the time," he said, laughing.
Hammet said the family continued to drive the car for the next 30 years nearly every day. That was until last Saturday night when a thief rolled the car out of the family's Lake Highlands driveway.
"I opened the front door and, bam, it was gone. I was in disbelief," Hammet said.
He said he immediately started driving around the neighborhood, searching for the cherry-red classic car.
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After posting on Facebook about the theft, a neighbor happened to search his own surveillance video and, sure enough, found footage of the entire theft.
"This gentleman, not gentleman – I'm going to take that back – this guy rolling the car out of the driveway and pushing it all the way up the block to the other end, and uphill and over speed bumps," Hammet said
In the video a man is seen in the pouring rain by himself, and after reaching the end of the block he rolls the vintage car into an alley, where he remains for about 20 minutes.
Hammet said he had a special theft prevention system on the car but the man managed to bypass it after some time, then hot-wired the car.
The surveillance video shows him driving away.
"It's kinda like losing your arm or something, you know. You've always got it, and it's always there and you never think about it, but having that empty space in my driveway is kinda like losing an arm," Hammet said.
While he wants the car back, Hammet said he wants the crook caught just as much.
"Everybody wants to see this guy caught. You know, I could get another car if I have to, if they don't find it. But I really want this guy to get caught," he said.
The car is a 1965 Mustang convertible with Texas license plate JXJ-378 and has a tan interior.
Anyone who has information on the theft is asked to call Dallas police.
