The suspect allegedly destroyed the engine during the chase, and police caught up soon after
- Thieves stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk without realizing it had a working dashcam.
- The original owner recovered the dashcam footage and uploaded it for the world to see.
- Despite getting his car back, the owner says the thief likely destroyed his modified V8 engine.
Owners of stolen vehicles must have countless thoughts run through their heads after the crime. Where is my car? What is the thief doing with it? Are police even looking for it? But for the owner of a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk equipped with a raucous Hellcat supercharged V8 motor, there was no need to wonder. Thanks to a dashcam and tracking devices installed in the SUV, he got a front-row seat to the whole ordeal, including a high-speed police chase.
According to the video description, the uploader is the former owner of the car. They provided several insights about the situation including how the crime went down, how they kept track of the car, and what they believe happened in the end. First, let’s kick things off with the start of the theft itself which happened long before the chase.
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Apparently, the thieves broke into the Jeep at least a day before driving off with it. The owner first noticed the rear window had been shattered, and a neighbor confirmed that it had happened the previous day. Just a few hours after discovering the damage, he heard the engine start up and ran outside just in time to see his Jeep leaving the parking lot.
Without wasting a moment, he immediately jumped in a separate car to give chase. In the process of that, he activated the Jeep’s onboard tracker. Once at a fuel station, the owner says they attempted to stop the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk but the feature didn’t work. Instead, though, he was able to set off the alarm and keep the lights flashing.
Thanks to the tracker, he was also able to key officers from various departments in on exactly where the Jeep was. At around the 23-minute mark of the video, officers catch up with it and begin the chase. Immediately, it’s clear that the driver jumps on the throttle and begins passing traffic at a high rate of speed. That advantage doesn’t last for good though. Soon after the chase starts, the driver pulls over on the side of the road while saying repeatedly that the car shut down on him.
The Aftermath and Engine Failure Theory
“After reviewing the dashcam footage, I realized that the high-speed police chase – hitting 120+ mph -likely caused catastrophic engine failure, which ultimately ended the chase. The supercharged V8, pushing over 800 horsepower [Ed. note: it’s rated at 707 hp in stock form] had been running on fumes due to the thief’s failure to refuel, which likely led to fuel starvation at high RPMs, destroying the engine. This is just my theory,” says the video poster.
While the owner did get his Jeep back, the engine was beyond saving. In the end, he handed the damaged Trackhawk over to his insurance company in exchange for a payout.