Stolen speedway ute’s joy ride
COLLIE RIVER VALLEY BULLETIN, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 5
POLICE are investigating if a ute that was recently stolen from Collie Speedway was used in an attempted ATM theft in Donnybrook. The ute, which was used for dust suppression between races, was stolen in the early hours of Thursday, February 2, from the track in Williams Road. A Police Media spokesman said the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated. “The stolen vehicle was located burnt out on a track in the Donnybrook/Upper Capel area by a member of the public,” he said. “Given that location, and the location and timing of the incident at the service station in Donnybrook, Collie Police and Donnybrook Police are working together to determine if the incidents are linked.” Due to the ongoing investigation, police could not confirm if they had any leads or how many people were involved. Track curator Graeme Genev and his grandson Ethan Genev - who is also an association committee member - retrieved the burnt out vehicle on Thursday. Ethan said the association's surveillance captured footage of the thief, but he did not know who it was.
BURNT OUT: Collie Speedway track curator Graeme Genev and his grandson and committee member Ethan Genev with the burnt out ute that was stolen from the association. Police are investigating if the ute was later used in the attempted theft of an ATM in Donnybrook. “In the surveillance, it shows one person,” he said. “But someone would’ve had to drive them to the track. And they had a grinder to cut the locks and get in. “It’s possible it could’ve been someone that had been to the track and seen the ute driving around.” Ethan said it wasn’t the first time the club had been broken into. “They obviously wanted a four-wheel drive,” he said.
“They also stole a lifting sling, so they knew what they wanted.” Graeme said the association’s cameras, generators and tools were stolen in previous break-ins. It will now need to make plans to replace the stolen ute. “We’ll have to build another one,” Graeme said. “We recovered the water tank, so hopefully we can resurrect that and try again.”
Graeme said he and Ethan transformed the ute specifically for the speedway. It took them two weeks, and they expect it will cost thousands to modify a new ute. “We have a push ute that we can use to replace it,” Graeme said. “It’s just an inconvenience. It took two weeks and a lot of hard work. “Then we’ll have to replace the push ute, plus the repairs to the water tank - it all costs money and we’re all volunteers.”
