Car theft has always been a pestilence on the motoring community. Even if your car doesn’t get stolen, there has been a rash of people stealing various parts like catalytic converters for scrap. Well, Florida man has really done it this time; a 2018 Hyundai Accent that was recently stolen in Florida was carrying COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccine is worth its weight in gold these days and tends to attract extra law enforcement attention when stolen. 

The stolen 2018 Hyundai Accent had more loot than the thief knew

Authorities in Plant City, FL, are searching for a gray 2018 Hyundai Accent in the area. According to Autoblog, The stolen Hyundai was carrying 30 vials of the vaccine worth $10,000. 

The owner of the car was taking vaccine vials in temperature-controlled coolers from the Hillsborough County Department of Health in Tampa to Plant City’s Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds when his way was blocked. He got out of the car to look for security guards when the Florida man jumped in his Hyundai and drove away.

The police are looking for information on the Florida man. Police believe he is in his early 20s with long hair. They did, however, mention that the driver of the Hyundai is not a suspect. 

Do Hyundai cars get stolen a lot? 

The Hyundai Elantra landed in 6th place on the most stolen cars in America list from 2015. I don’t know that there is anything extra stealable about Hyundais, but they tend to be theived a good bit. A video was posted a couple of months back of a guy calling the tow truck driver as he locked his keys in his Elantra. The tow truck driver gets the door popped open in under a minute easy. With his few simple tools and the know-how, the Elantra was cracked open like a walnut. 

In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine transport, the driver simply left the driver’s door open with the keys in the car and the car running. This one won’t take a hot-shot detective to figure out what happened, but there is something about Hyundai and getting stolen. 

The 2018 Hyundai Accent shouldn’t be too hard to catch

The bad news about finding the stolen Hyundai is that it isn’t exactly a unique car. Hyundai sold 29,090 of those bad boys in 2018 alone. Many of these things are rolling around but presumably only one with a trunk full of COVID vaccines. 

The Good news here is that it’s a Hyundai Accent. They came with a 130-hp inline-four and front-wheel drive. So they the thief won’t exactly be getting away in the event of a chase. Although, the 2018 Accent did have the option for a manual or automatic transmission. The reports have failed to tell us whether we should be looking out for someone potentially lurching around Florida in a jumpy Hyundai. 

What about the vaccine?

Clearly, this is what the authorities are most interested in. While the shipment is only 30 vials, the haul is worth $10,000 but far more than that in the race to end the COVID-19 plague. Although we know what 30 vials look like, I am interested in knowing how big the storage container is for these vials. As we all now know, the vaccines must be kept at a remarkably cold -30f. Luckily the Hyundai Accent has 13.7 cubic feet of cargo room in the trunk.

Authorities say that at the time of the theft, the doses were being properly stored. The big question is, if they get the medicine back, can the doctors still use it?