A 27-year-old Canberra woman is fighting more than $5,000 in traffic fines and a suspended driver's licence after her car was stolen from her Gungahlin home and used by thieves on a four-day joy ride.
Michaela, who asked to be identified only by her first name, has been dealing with eight traffic infringements, including six speeding fines and two seatbelt offences, totalling $5,153 and 23 demerit points. Her full driver's licence has been suspended as a result.
The ordeal began on the night of April 15 when Michaela went to bed early, suspecting she may have left the main door unlocked. Around 12.30am, she was woken by her dog barking and found her front door wide open. Her dark blue Mazda hatchback, parked in the driveway, was gone, along with the keys that had been kept near the kitchen table.
Neighbour's CCTV footage revealed that six masked men had entered her home. 'It was pretty scary,' she recalled, visibly shaken.
Michaela reported the theft to ACT Policing on April 16, but the thieves continued their joy ride across Canberra. The car was found abandoned in Franklin four days later, trashed with food wrappers, a meth pipe, and missing her designer sunglasses and jewellery.
Last week, Michaela received eight infringement notices in the mail. She contacted Access Canberra, providing a police report and traffic camera images showing the men driving her car, but was told an investigation is underway.
One of the speeding fines, for $1,841, carries six demerit points and was issued after the car was captured doing 154km/h in a 100km/h zone on Tuggeranong Parkway. The young woman has also been fined for two seatbelt offences.
'I gave the police report on my car theft to them but they want to investigate. They made me file a declaration form,' she said.
With her car still held by ACT Policing for forensic examination and her licence under scrutiny, Michaela remains in limbo a month after the theft. Access Canberra had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
