Driver exits car to talk to spouse, thief pounces

Car thieves are lurking everywhere, it seems — even on the side of a highway.

Last Friday, shortly before 10 a.m., the Ontario Provincial Police say they responded to an unusual motor vehicle theft on Highway 539A in West Nipissing. 

Police say spouses were following each other in different vehicles when they pulled over to talk. The driver in the lead vehicle got out to speak to their partner in the second car.

“A person then entered the empty vehicle and attempted to drive away before being stopped by the vehicle owner,” says a news release issued Monday by the OPP.

The suspect then fled into the bush, where he was later found by police and arrested.

Robert Savage, 35, of West Nipissing is charged with theft of a motor vehicle and failure to comply with a probation order.

He was released on an undertaking and will appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in North Bay on Feb. 1, 2024.

None of the allegations have been tested in court and Savage is considered innocent unless proven guilty.