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St. Louis woman is happy to have car back, learns hard lesson

A young thief taught a St. Louis woman a hard lesson after stealing her car Friday morning.
Credit: Gaffney, Kayla

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis woman has learned her lesson after a teen stole her car on Friday morning while it warmed up in her driveway in the 2600 block of McNair Avenue.

Danielle Metz was walking her puppy around 6:45 a.m. when she turned it on, so it could warm up and defrost. When she came out 10 minutes later, there was no warm car for her to hop into.

“Immediately I was confused and thought, "Did I park it somewhere else?" Metz said.

She said apparently a kid walking to school saw the car running and decided to take it on a joy ride.

“I didn't want to come out here because someone could be out here still, or someone was watching me clean my car off," the student teacher said.

Metz credit’s the St. Louis Police Department’s hard work for making her day better.

“They were really kind and helpful and put my mind at ease about everything," she said.

Her car was found a couple of hours later in downtown St. Louis near 13th street and Pine Street. The 16-year-old driver was arrested.

Metz is debating pressing charges to teach the teen a lesson. She said he definitely taught her one.

“I will not not start my car and leave it anymore,” she said.

She’s also parking in a different spot that’s more visible.

You're allowed to warm up your car in the city of St. Louis for up to five minutes when it's above 32 degrees.

If it's under 32 degrees a car can idle up to 10 minutes.

It's not recommended, especially if you leave your doors unlocked.

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