Help Jessi Recover From Her Stolen Car Disaster

At the age of 19, I worked hard and finally saved up enough money for a down payment for my first vehicle in April of 2020. I was so proud of myself and felt accomplished to have the opportunity to buy the car I wanted, a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. After 3 car payments and a few months of enjoying my new car, in September of 2020 I had gone to Aurora to visit with a friend. The next day, on September 12th, I discovered my car had been stolen out of the parking lot! I notified the police and filed a claim through my insurance, Geico Insurance Company. Geico denied my claim saying the insurance payments I had been making for months were only for me as a driver and not for my car!

After a few weeks, at about 2:00 AM late September, I had gotten a knock on my door from the Police stating that they had found my car. I was extremely excited but I got no detail from the Police Officers about the extent of the damage to my car, so I wasn't expecting to see my car totaled at the impound lot later that morning. The thief had crashed my car into a guardrail and attempted to flee in my vehicle from the Police. Although there was no car chase, she had shredded the tires as she was stuckon the guardrail. The thief was arrested and when my Family and I went to recover the vehicle we discovered drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, knives, drug scales, stolen items, other peoples mail in many different names, someone's license plate, but nothing of mine that was in my car when it was stolen.

The thief had driven over 2,000 miles, taken all of my belongings, painted my rims pink in an attempt to disguise the vehicle, and totaled my vehicle leaving me to pay for a vehicle that is inoperable and cannot be fixed due to the extent of damage especially to the engine. The thief was arrested for DUI, Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft, and four other charges along with outstanding warrants from different counties. We were told that this was the 4th vehicle she had stolen and abused.

I work hard and help take care of my Dad, who is disabled due to Multiple Sclerosis. Not having my vehicle operating for 5+ months and continuing to make payments on it has made it difficult to manage my day-to-day responsibilities. I am hoping and praying to raise enough money to pay off the remaining loan that I have on this inoperable vehicle so I may be able to proceed in saving up and getting another loan for a vehicle that I will be able to drive.

Thank you so much for reading my story!
For further information, please watch my interview on Fox31 News Problem Solvers.