NORFOLK, Va. – The Jeffery family just can’t seem to catch a break.
“It was such a surreal moment that it was literally like the nightmare doesn’t end. It just keeps going,” said Morgan Jeffery of Norfolk.
It all began last Friday.
John was about to start a new job, but just hours earlier as he was heading to the 7-11 on his skateboard, the 40-year-old says a driver came out of nowhere, hit him, and then sped off.
The father of six children was left alone and unconscious in the middle of Orange Avenue. He’s now recovering at home but has a broken nose and ribs, a back injury, and a long road to recovery.
“It’s hard to walk because of the broken ribs,” said John Jeffery. “It takes a lot out of me.”
But it doesn’t end there for the newlyweds.
Wednesday morning, Morgan said their red 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen right from their driveway in broad daylight.
She said she was about to take her two-year-old son to daycare when she noticed it was missing.
“Things have been so chaotic and such a whirlwind that I looked around, like maybe I parked somewhere different,” she said. “Then I realized our truck had been stolen. It was gone.”
After the thief got away with the jeep, the Jeffery’s believe he drove a couple of miles down the road to a back parking lot at the corner of 1st View and Ocean View Avenue. The business owners along the strip told News 3 that surveillance video caught a man getting out of a red jeep, smashing car windows, and grabbing whatever he found inside.
As Norfolk Police investigate the theft, they’re urging people to always lock their car doors.
Morgan admits that’s the one thing she forgot to do after nearly losing her husband.
“It’s just been a really long couple days and it was a simple mistake that cost us the rest of our life, it feels like right now,” said Morgan.
The Jeffery’s aren’t alone.
Just in the last week, police say 39 cars were reported stolen.
So far this month, there was a total of 84 car thefts. That number is up from this same time last year when 71 cars were taken.
The family is now trying to move forward but without their only car, it’s been tough.
“That is our only vehicle. Our only means of transportation” Morgan said. “I have to get John to his appointments. The kids are about to start school.”
They’re hoping their luck soon turns around and are thankful things didn’t end differently.
“Had I not been an hour and a half late, I’d have met him out here and that’s terrifying,” said Morgan.
The Jeffery family has set up a GoFundMeto help pay for John’s medical bills and help support their six children as he recovers.
