A resident posted a comment in a local Facebook group describing an incident on the afternoon of Friday, January 3 at the Old Greenwich Car Wash in which a customer was in the midst of vacuuming their car when a thief jumped in it and drove away.
“She had it running while vacuuming her right back seat. She turned to throw something in the trash, and a man sneaked in, and drove the car away,” the person said in their comment.
“Turn your car off and keep our keys with you at the gas station / car wash/grocery store, etc, even for an instant!” the commenter added. “I’m still in shock because it could’ve happened to me or anyone else. I know there have been some cases of stolen vehicles from driveways, but I had never imagined a situation like this. Stay safe!”
On Sunday, Lt Patrick Smyth from Greenwich Police confirmed the incident. He said the stolen car was a BMW X7.
“A woman was vacuuming on the passenger side of the car when another car pulled up on the driver side,” Smyth said. “A male got out, jumped in the driver’s seat of victim’s car and drove off.”
Lt Smyth said detectives are investigating the incident.
A year ago in January 2024, a similar incident was caught on the surveillance cameras at the Shell station on West Putnam Ave when brazen thieves followed a driver into the gas station. When she went inside the station to pay, the thieves made their move.