MODESTO - Surveillance video appears to show a woman steal a teen's wallet after he was involved in a car accident in Modesto, California.
"I was kind of in shock at the moment and I couldn’t ... can’t remember word-for-word but she definitely seemed like she was feigning sympathy," Christopher Mercurio told KTXL.
Mercurio was involved in the crash in front of the A & M Mini gas station Tuesday morning. He says the force of the crash knocked off his glasses. With his vision a little blurry and his emotions high, he says his only focus was to make sure everyone was alright.
"The first thing I did was make sure that the occupants in the other car were OK," he told KTXL.
After Modesto police officers arrived and asked for his driver’s license, Mercurio came up empty-handed.
"The cops are asking my info and this is looking very bad on my part because I don’t have a license to prove that I’m a driver," Mercurio said.
All Mercurio and his mother Kristi could do was search. His family says a digital discovery proved to be more fruitful.
"Got the vehicle towed home, we tore apart the car looking in every crack and then at one point I realized, 'You should check your bank account,'" Kristi Mercurio said.
Whoever had his bank card helped themselves to treats, cash and even attempted to make out with $250 worth of goods at a Walmart.
"She spent quite a bit of money," Mercurio said. "She bought donuts, she took out $110 at a gas station."
It wasn’t until his mother says she reviewed this surveillance footage at the gas station did she see the possible culprit, a woman who reached into the car right from under Mercurio's nose.
“I see her walking right up, just kind of looked like she was concerned and the minute he turned his back, she dipped into the car and took off with his wallet," Kristi Mercurio said.
The Mercurios say they were able to stop the charges before she was able to spend more.
Mercurio says the experience was hard to digest, while his mom hopes the woman grows a conscience.
"Just do the right thing. Don’t steal from people, especially when they’re hurting," she said. "I don’t know how she sleeps with herself at night."
