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Brooklyn Woman's Mom Finds Out That 1993 Honda Keys Fit Other Hondas
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 17, 2014
Modified Apr 17, 2014
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 17, 2014
Modified Apr 17, 2014
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It might be embarrassing when your mom tries to use the internet to set you up on dates, or interrupts your thug life screeds, or is identified by the NY Post as the worst mom in NYC, or writes self-help books on "the Effective Governance of Children." But at least she's never accidentally stolen someone's car!
That's what happened to Nekisia Davis' mom, 55-year-old Cheryl Thorpe, when she came up from Houston to dog-sit for her daughter earlier this month. Davis and her friends Deanna and Betsy went down to Florida for the weekend, and she also asked her mom to move their cars too—a Fiat, a Honda CRV and a 1993 Honda Accord—because of alternate side parking. "She sent a text later saying that all the cars were successfully moved: 'I'm so proud of myself,'" Davis told Daily Intel.
The problem: she moved the wrong green Honda. "Deanna said, ‘I can’t find my car.’ And my mom said, ‘It’s right there.’ And Deanna said, ‘That’s not my car.’ And my mom said ‘well that’s the car I moved with your keys,’” Davis told CBS. Davis began putting up flyers like the one above around the neighborhood to try to find the owner.
It turned out that the key for one Honda worked for the other Honda as well. A spokesman from Honda told CBS that while all keys are unique, "it is possible, but highly unlikely, for some cars from the early 90′s to be unlocked and then started by more than one key." As highly unlikely as that is, that's exactly what happened. "I just opened the door with the key and drove it," Thorpe told The Post. "It was pretty incredible because the key worked."
After 10 days of searching, police were finally able to match up the stolen car with its rightful owner, Emily Hickert, on Wednesday. Hickert, who lives in Cobble Hill, was eating brunch at the time when her car was mistakenly stolen. She saw footage of Thorpe taking it when she filed a police report: "In less than 40 seconds she gets in the car and goes," Hickert told the Post. "I thought she was a professional."
Everything's been cleared up now, and Davis has offered to pay for the $190 fine Hickert's car got after being towed. "I’m not upset with her," Hickert added. "I’m glad it wasn’t a thief. I just didn’t know why anyone would steal a 1993 Honda."
Tagged
brooklyn
cars
Emilee Hickert
honda
keys
moms
Nekisia Davis
stolen
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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