BENSALEM, Pa. — According to www.6abc.com, a suspected burglar wielding a blowtorch attempted to break into a payment machine at Red Rhino Car Wash on July 21st and nearly burned down the whole business in the process.
The whole incident was caught on surveillance footage.
Recordings show the suspect pull in around 3 a.m. in a dark-colored Nissan sedan with chipping paint.
The suspect parks in back and then walks up to the payment machine, lights the blowtorch and attempts to break through two of the three locks on the machine.
He lights the top one on fire and then proceeds to try to torch the second lock.
When he doesn’t succeed, he departs, but he leaves the machine on fire, and a moment later, it all goes up in flames.
The fire began melting part of the building’s roof, and officials said the whole carwash could have burned down as a result.
However, a good Samaritan suddenly appeared and put out the fire with an extinguisher.
“This is a father-and-son-owned business. We’ve been working hard to make this place perfect,” said co-owner Brent McCurdy. “If this would have gone down, my heart would have been broken right now. We’d have lost the whole business. I need to find who they are. I heard [the Good Samaritan drives] a huge dump truck, and because our entry is tall, he can wash here. When I find him, I’ll be giving him a big hug.”
McCurdy noted that there was not much money in the machine, but it was burned during the incident.
Unfortunately, customers can no longer use the 24-hour automatic carwash when the site isn’t being managed.
“Some of these customers might go and find a new place to wash,” said McCurdy.
The suspect has not yet been caught. Read the original story here.
