By Brendan Rees
A tradie whose car was stolen and later found engulfed in flames after ploughing into a tree in Clyde has lost his livelihood.
Bricklayer Jordan Kruize of Cranbourne North said he could barely work now that he was without a car and his entire collection of tools had been stolen.
“It’s slowed my life down … I can’t understand why someone would do that; ruin someone else’s life,” the 24-year-old said.
According to Mr Kruize, his Ford Ranger was stolen at the front of his garage on Brolin Terrace on Friday 26 June.
Along with his tools, Mr Kruize also had other items stolen in the car including a $500 suit, clothes and tax invoices.
His wallet was also taken but was found dumped at a nearby bus stop. However, his bank card and white card needed to access building sites were missing.
Nine days after the theft, Mr Kruize’s car was recovered by police after firefighters were called to a scene of a burning vehicle which was found smashed up against a tree on Tucker Road in Clyde just after 11am on Sunday 5 July.
About 10 firefighters from Cranbourne and Clyde fire brigades brought the blaze under control within half-an-hour, however, the driver had fled by the time crews arrived.
Casey Crime Investigation Unit detectives are now investigating after alleging a man was driving a 2008 white Ford Ranger along Tucker Road when he lost control and crashed into a tree.
“The man got out of the car and fled the scene before the car was fully engulfed in flames,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
“Emergency services quickly extinguished the flames and police have since discovered the car was stolen.”
Detectives are urging anyone who saw the car travelling in the area at the time and may have dash cam footage to come forward.
According to a spokesman with Clyde fire brigade, the Ford Ranger had paper plates affixed to it with the front cabin well-alight by the time crews attended the scene.
When told of the news Mr Kruize said he “wasn’t really surprised” as he had heard of similar incidents occurring across Casey.
Meanwhile, Mr Kruize said he had canvassed his neighbours for any CCTV cameras but most were of no value with footage showing flashing headlights at night.
He said he had made a claim with his insurance company which was still being processed.
“We were planning to build a house and that’s been put on hold for a little bit,” Mr Kruize said of he and his partner.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
