It's Easier Than You Think to Accidentally Steal a Car

Accidents happen. Like, sometimes you steal a car without even meaning to. Surveillance video taken Tuesday night in Portland, Ore., shows a woman unlocking Erin Hatzi's red Subaru in Hatzi's driveway and driving off, the Guardian reports. Hatzi tells KGW it didn't seem like a normal car theft as the thief sat in the car in the driveway for a few minutes before driving away. Regardless, Hatzi notified police and her insurance. On Wednesday, Hatzi's Subaru was back in front of her house with a note and $30 cash inside. "I more than apologize for the shock and upset this must have caused you," reads the note, which Hatzi posted on Facebook. "So, so sorry for this mistake."

The note-writer says she told her friend to pick up her car—also a red Subaru—Tuesday night. The next morning, the note-writer discovered her friend had chosen the wrong Subaru; hers was parked a block away from Hatzi's home. The note-writer even left her name and phone number for Hatzi. The $30 was for gas. “It’s insane,” Hatzi tells KGW. “It’s like a bad sitcom that nobody would ever buy the story because it’s stupid and it makes no sense." Apparently, keys for older Subarus can be interchangeable, and that's what allowed Hatzi's car to have what she calls "a little adventure," the Oregonian reports. (The theft of a Snuggle Mobile was no accident.)