TACOMA, Wash. — A couple’s car was stolen Monday night after they brought their infant to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
Steven and Sara Smith said their two-month-old son had to be admitted overnight for a stomach virus. When Steven Smith went to the garage to drive home for some clothes for their overnight stay, he said the car was gone.
“I’m trying to take care of my sick son, and this happens to me,” Steven Smith said. “I feel like I’ve been punched in the face.”
The family’s car is a light blue 1995 Honda Accord with license plate AZU9009. It has a “Go Army” bumper sticker and military ID tags hanging from the rear-view mirror.
Smith said he bought the car from a retired Army colonel and the tags belonged to the previous owner.
He said he was particularly frustrated because the security staff at Mary Bridge told him cameras couldn’t capture where his car was parked.
KIRO 7 saw security cameras on each level of the garage, but only at the location of the elevators.
“This is our only means of transportation. Like, I’m at the point where I’m kind of frustrated but worried at the same time how I’m going to get my wife to work, me to work, and my son get to his doctor appointments,” Smith said.
Sara Smith said she is supposed to return to work from maternity leave soon and her husband is supposed to be starting a new job next week.
KIRO 7 contacted MultiCare Health and Tacoma police to find out if there is a pattern of car thefts at the hospital.
MultiCare Health did not respond immediately, but Tacoma police officer Loretta Cool said the department is not aware of a pattern of thefts.
Still, a hospital employee told KIRO 7 that staff has been getting emails about recent car break-ins and other problems in the garage. She said she parks her car outside where it is more easily seen.
Another employee told KIRO 7 on condition of anonymity that there were several cars stolen or broken into.
Sara Smith is now back home with her son.
“It’s bad enough to have a sick son and someone takes your car while you’re dealing with that,” she said. “But you don’t know what the person you’re taking the car from is dealing with, because you could be taking a car from someone who just lost their family member.”
Cox Media Group
