Steering wheel column stolen in seconds as police say GM cars are being targeted

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The latest crime trend is stolen steering wheels - and what’s amazing is how fast they can dismantle an entire steering column - in some cases, it’s less than 25 seconds.  

"I work at a plant and it takes us days to build a car, and you can come in and take it apart in less than a minute," said a woman whose steering wheel was stolen.

Video shows her entire steering wheel column was pulled out of her Chevrolet Malibu. The crashing sound in the video is this Detroit woman, falling down the stairs trying to stop the thief Thursday morning.

"My ankle is sprained, tore my inner soft tissue in my knee and I've got a bruised hip," she said.  

Just 25 seconds, the thief was out, leaving a trail of damage behind.  

"Mentally every little noise, every little crack, I’m worried they’re going to come back,"  

All of that for the airbag they’ll sell on the black market.  

"Four-fifty to maybe $800 per airbag," said Lt. Clive Stewart, DPD Commercial Auto Theft Task Force. 

That’s how much they go for on the black market - and they know exactly which cars are the sweet spot.  

"The Malibu, the Traverse..pretty much every GM, GMC product," said Stewart.  

Stewart says police have been battling these thieves since the pandemic started.  

"The production of everything was slow and everything was on backorder and a lot of these guys would just put money in the streets," Stewart said.

It’s not just in Detroit, Allen Park with five open cases right now, and Dearborn with 20.  

"Karma is going to get him," the woman said.

Karma needs a little help from tipsters, Detroit police is offering a $500 reward for information on this guy.  

The victim of the break-in who fell down the stairs has a GoFundMe for those who want to donate to her HERE.