WOODLAND HILLS—On January 11, a 1962 light teal-colored Chevy Impala was stolen from the driveway of Seth Wayne, as captured on his security cameras. He indicated that the car was not normally left in his driveway.
Wayne, who is a flight instructor by trade, normally keeps the car safe in his hangar at the airport.
The footage shows what appears to be two Black men stealing the vehicle and bending the grill to open the hood. Wayne suggested they had to have pushed it out of the driveway or hotwired it.
Wayne told ABC 7, “I guess they weren’t familiar with what the hydraulics were and what was going on back there, and when they yanked the cables, the charger, the positive and the negative, they hit it and sparks went flying everywhere.”
He indicated that this car was a dream car, he waited a lifetime to acquire, and it was stolen on his birthday. “It’s not the kind of thing you want to deal with on your birthday,” Wayne continued.
Wayne was in the process of working on it. It was missing some parts, and it was worth $100,000. Though Wayne does have insurance on the vehicle, he mentioned that he’d rather have the vehicle back than the insurance money.
Seth Wayne is the owner of the Ascent Aviation Academy in Van Nuys. According to the Academy’s website, he has been flying since the age of 15. Pilots he trained, and his alumni, include those who are now flying for the US Air Force, US Army, FedEx, UPS, Delta, and other airlines.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident. Anyone with information about the theft or the whereabouts of the car is asked to call LAPD at 1-877-3247.
