Thieves steal woman's car right out of her garage, police say

ATLANTA — An Atlanta grandmother is in disbelief after thieves stole her car from her garage seconds after she came home.

Midge McLean said she had just filled up at a gas station before coming home. She said that may have been where the thieves first started following her.

McLean pulled into her garage, ran inside to drop off groceries and almost right away, she heard tires screeching and her car was gone.

“Somewhere, they were watching me,” McLean said.

It scares McLean to think about how thieves likely followed her home.

“Right behind me, in my garage, but they were very quiet, only thing I heard was them screech out of here,” McLean said.

Surveillance video from a neighbor shows her car speeding away from her house with a thief behind the wheel.

“It was like a joyride for them,” McLean said.

The grandmother said she almost always takes extra precautions when pumping gas.

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“I lock it and pump the gas with a key in my hand,” McLean said.

But seconds after going into her northwest Atlanta home, she said someone got in her car before she could take the keys out and close the garage.

“They could have hurt me, but because I was already inside, they just wanted to get the car,” McLean said.

McLean had just spent time with family Tuesday before she got home on Adams Drive around 11:30 p.m.

Another camera shows two suspects get out of what appears to be a Dodge Charger parked around the corner right before the theft.

Within minutes, one person was seen driving away with McLean's Kia Codenza right behind him.

“I’m retired so I have (a) hard time thinking of having to pay, making monthly payments on a car,” McLean said.

For now, McLean said she's going to change the routes she takes to get home and also never let her guard down.

“It can happen to anybody,” McLean said.

This appears to be the first car theft in the neighborhood off Marietta Road.

McLean’s neighbors have been more than helpful and she said one neighbor already bought her a security camera.

Cox Media Group