Thief steals single mom's car from driveway while it warmed up

CENTER LINE, Mich. (WJBK) - According to Michigan law - you can't leave a running vehicle unattended. But in this frigid weather a lot of us do it anyway. 

Now a Center Line woman is sharing a cautionary tale after her car was stolen right from her driveway.
 
"I'm sharing it because I want other people to know that in a minute your life can change," said Tyasha Rusch.
 
It changed for Rusch 24 hours earlier, when she went outside to warm up her car. She doesn't have an electric start so she left the keys inside - her first mistake.
 
"I had a weird feeling yesterday and I decided to go against my gut," she said. "I came back inside and when I went back out it was gone."
 
She looked out to an empty driveway at her Center Line home and her SUV was stolen. 

"By the time I called 911 it was within five minutes," Rusch said.
 
She's only had the 2009 Silver Volkswagen Touareg for about a year.
 
"I worked hard for that car, I worked 60 hours a week," she said. "I saved for a long time to pay for that car."
 
The worst part, her 15-year-old son Johnny has Leukemia and still needs treatment.
 
"With his cancer I need reliable transportation and now it’s gone," she said.
 
He's cancer free but not in remission- the after effects causing serious health problems.
 
"A lot of the side effects from the cancer, it keeps us in a lot of specialists," Rusch said.
 
Another harsh dose of reality for Tyasha was she found out her car was not insured for theft. 
 
"My car is not covered," she said. "I am responsible for everything left owed on that car. Now I have to come up with another down payment for another vehicle while paying for this other vehicle." 
 
She's sharing photos of the SUV on social media, hoping someone will notice the unique yellow paint her on the wheels. But more than anything, she wants other drivers to learn from her mistakes.
 
"I'm not going to sit down and cry in the corner," she said.
 
She's got a message for whoever did this. 
 
"To you it may be a quick couple dollars but to me, its affected my family," Rusch said.
 
Center Line police say this is the first kind of car theft they've had like this, this season. But they still are asking people to be careful.