Posted on 03/17/2023 1:47:25 PM PDT by grundle
OAKLAND, Calif. - A Vacaville man was killed while allegedly stealing a catalytic converter in Oakland, according to police and media reports.
The coroner on Wednesday identified the man as 35-year-old Eric Chabot.
Oakland police said that on March 10 about 3 a.m., he was found underneath a car "committing a crime at the time of their death" in the 400 block of Lagunitas Avenue near Lake Merritt.
The East Bay Times reported he was trying to steal a catalytic converter from a parked Prius nearby.
Authorities told the news organization that it seems like the carjack Chabot was using malfunctioned causing the Prius to slip and crush him. A backpack containing cutting tools was found near him, authorities said.
The converter was still intact, police said.
A growing number of people have been crushed to death while trying to steal catalytic converters in the past few years.
One death happened in Berkeley in March 2020, another in Anaheim in March 2021, another occurred in Palmdale last month and a third occurred this month in Savannah, Georgia.
Anyone with information should call the OPD Criminal Investigations Division at (510)238-3326.
“ A growing number of people have been crushed to death while trying to steal catalytic converters in the past few years.”
Very heartening to know.
Slower is nice.
Darwin Award.
These guys do not know jack.
Awwww. Victdumb of “their” own stoopidness.
“Their” death.”
It’s how modern journalism majors write. Schooled in wokism and gender neutrality.
There might be enough crushed catalytic converter thieves that some enterprising ambulence chasing law firm can get a class action going.
"committing a crime at the time of their death
I hope he didn’t bleed all over the driveway.
Cat probably made in China. Cutting tools probably made in China. Jack probably made in China. Perp was probably gonna spend the money on drugs made in China. Life in the USA.
Pity.
Sounds like a ray-ciss car to me.
I wonder if they put the car on milk crates? I see them around sometimes with the wheels off and the car sitting on 4 plastic milk crates. It doesn’t look too sturdy to me.
I am very confused. How is this not news?
It’s news. Have a Quaalude.
His little moonlighting side gig got self converted from catalytic to catastrophic.
Instant karma gonna getcha!
A crushing victory for the law-abiding.
It’s pretty bad when your friends are telling each other, “At least he died doing what he loved to do. Stealing catalytic converters.”
The thugs need to focus on stealing cat converters from pickups where they do not need to jack up the car.
I must be getting dyslexic because I swear I read "the Carjack Chatbot malfunctioned" and thought, "Damn, AI carjackers now?"
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