Thief steals 5-year-old boy's race car in Livermore
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Easton Wright of Martinez is just 5 years old. But on Friday, he said he was angry "because I have no car."
It's not a real car, but a quarter midget race car that he usually whizzes around a special track in Livermore.
Easton says he loves racing "because you go super fast and you pass people."
But instead, the kindergartner is heartbroken because his car is now in the hands of a thief.
"Robbers broke in and stole it," he said.
It happened before dawn Monday outside the Tri-valley Quarter Midget Association racecourse in Livermore.
Surveillance video shows a man backing up a truck that he stole nearby. He connects it to the family's trailer and then takes off.
The stolen truck was found abandoned in Pittsburg on Friday morning. Also recovered - the family's trailer ,which was cleaned out after someone drilled the locks.
Their tools, a generator, an air compressor and the race car - with Easton's name on it - are still missing. The family considers the trailer their "home away from home."
"This is the Little League of NASCAR," said Easton's father, Tim Wright, acknowledging that the family has fully embraced racing, traveling across the West to events.
But the theft has cast a pall over them.
"There’s really, possibly no worse of a person than a thief and especially somebody that goes and steals from children," Wright said.
He said his son burst into tears when he learned his car was gone.
"It’s heartbreaking that I had to tell my 5-year-old son that someone had broken in and stolen something of his," he said.
Easton's been racing since July. He hopes to be a NASCAR driver when he grows up.
Wright said he's grateful that the trailer's back, but now the family is
"asking for a little more help to help us find the rest of our stuff, so we can continue on with our racing season and help him grow and follow his dreams."
Easton's mother Jessica Wright said the crime has left them "crushed, honestly, so our winter series start next week and we don’t have a car right now, so it’s just sad."
Easton had this message for the thief:
"Can I have my car back?" he asked.