Crime & Safety
Car Reported Stolen In Accidental Mix-Up: Hackettstown Police
Police say the man that drove the car away had mistaken it for his similar SUV.
HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — It was a case of "mistaken car identity," Hackettstown Police said: A Califon man accidentally drove away in a Long Valley woman's car because their two cars looked similar, police said.
A 72-year-old Long Valley woman reported her car stolen from Main Street on Tuesday afternoon; she told police she still had the key fob, but she wasn't sure the car was locked. She described the car was a gray 2015 SUV with a handicap placard hanging from the review mirror.
About 9 hours later, officers found the same model gray SUV parked near a closed business. That SUV was registered to a Califon man; when police went to the man's home, they found the SUV that had been reported stolen.
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Police say the man took the car by mistake because it looked similar, not noticing the handicap placard. It's not clear how the man was able to drive away without the key.
No charges will be filed in the mix-up, police said.
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