Police Successfully Track Down Stolen C8 Corvette With Assistance From OnStar

Wannabe thieves didn’t stand a chance when trying to run from both the law and GM’s OnStar in a new C8.

People, in general, have mixed feelings about technology like General Motors’ OnStar. On one hand, connected vehicles offer a host of benefits and help at the push of a button. On the other hand, a lot of folks just don’t feel comfortable sharing their personal information with “big brother.” But the owner of this C8 Corvette was happy to do just that recently after his brand new car was stolen.

It all went down when the owner called the Tulsa Police Department in Tulsa, Oklahoma to report that his Corvette had been stolen. But the cops didn’t exactly have to canvass the area looking for the C8, as OnStar was able to immediately track it down, as the department explained on its Facebook page. However, OnStar was able to do far more than just give them a location on the vehicle.

Even better, they shut the Corvette down, which enabled the police to quickly catch up and order the suspect out of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the C8 was still operational, and the thief took off. A short pursuit followed, during which a female passenger in the car attempted to exit at speed and suffered some injuries as a result.

Apparently, this two-seat Corvette still had two more people in the car, who both decided to bail shortly thereafter. One was arrested virtually immediately, while the other got in one last cardio session before they were caught at a local baseball field. Some weapons were found in the car, and the investigation is still ongoing, so we don’t yet know what charges will ultimately be filed.

It’s quite clear from this incident that things could have gone much, much worse. It’s likely that the thieves might have gotten away scot free, or that the C8 could have wound up completely totaled, as stolen cars often do. In this case, it appears to have merely hit a street sign at low speed, so the damage doesn’t figure to be too severe.

While some aren’t fans of sharing their personal information with Big Tech, services like OnStar are at least making life tough on wannabe car thieves. Perhaps in the near future, technology like this will persuade them to pursue more legitimate, legal careers. Or at least we certainly hope so.

Photos:Tulsa Police Department/Facebook 

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