A truck driver who just started his own business had his vehicle — along with 44,000 pounds of Miller High Life beer — stolen from an Orlando hotel parking lot Monday morning.
“I don’t mean to cry about it but I’m just trying to do the best I can and make a better life,” Van Thomas told a local ABC affiliate on Tuesday. Mr. Thomas added that after having worked for other trucking companies for over a decade he decided to start his own business, MT World Express, to inspire his local community and attain the American dream.
The Monday night theft is reminiscent of a similar crime that happened in the same area earlier in 2013, in which a truck with $120,000 of Hershey’s chocolate products was stolen. The truck alone was worth $90,000.
Mr. Thomas told the ABC affiliate that crime left him in a position where he didn’t even have enough money to buy a bus ticket home to Texas. Luckily, authorities located his truck soon after his interview with much of the cargo still intact — in Miami.
The driver said he believed his truck was targeted because older models are less likely to have GPS tracking devices.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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