'That car is bad mojo.' Riverdale man says car was targeted by airbag thieves, then struck by drunk driver
Neighbors say non-violent, but extremely inconvenient, offenses like these are escalating in Riverdale.
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Neighbors in Riverdale say they are sick of having their airbags and tires stolen - and their cars hit by reckless drivers.
"That car is bad mojo,” Kevin B. Ploth said in an exclusive interview with News 12.
Ploth says he can't believe his bad luck. Just weeks after replacing his stolen airbag, his work truck is once again out of commission.
"It's a lot of inconvenience,” said Ploth.
On Monday around 9:45 p.m., Ploth says a Toyota Camry crashed and flipped on his block.
"We heard a loud bang,” Ploth recalled. “I look out my kitchen window and I see a lot of commotion."
No one was hurt in the incident.
The driver hit four other cars, including David Khabinskys.
"There was a woman in there yelling, ‘Help me, help me!’ It was very clear that she was somewhat intoxicated,” Khabinsky said. “She smelled like it."
In late May, six cars had their airbags stolen, including Ploth's work truck.
The airbag thefts and the crash happened on Riverdale Avenue. Neighbors say it was all caught on their surveillance cameras.
"I don't think they were aware there were cameras on them,” Ploth said.
Neighbors say non-violent, but extremely inconvenient, offenses like these are escalating in Riverdale.
"For our precinct alone, we have at any given time about three squad cars because they consider Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil not a problem area, as do the criminal elements also view it as a blind spot,” said Ploth.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a major expansion of quality-of-life policing, deploying teams to deal with things like thefts, vandalism and abandoned cars.
Neighbors in Riverdale are hoping that this will lead to faster response times, more patrols and safer streets.
