'Just devastating': Thief steals from Good Samaritan at crash scene
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MARYSVILLE, Wash. - A local woman who stopped to help at the scene of a serious injury accident on Interstate 5 got ripped off in a heartbreaking way - somebody stole hundreds of dollars from her purse while she was tending to the victims.
Peggy Ray of Marysville left her own car doors unlocked in that adrenaline-fueled moment as she saw the crash up ahead, pulled over and raced toward the victims who were trapped in their partially submerged vehicle.
"He had blood just coming down his face, he cracked his head pretty hard," she says.
Peggy Ray crawled in the wrecked car through a broken window - and kept the man and his passenger stabilized until firefighters got there to take over.
But when she returned to her car, she got a cruel shock.
"The envelope was out like this," she recounts. "I just looked down, and I thought to myself, 'There is no way, no way ... no.'"
Somebody had stolen $900 from her purse on the front seat while she was helping the crash victims.
"The fact that somebody stole the money we needed for rent - it's just devastating," says Ray.
The cash in that envelope was a small fortune on a barista's salary - with six teenage kids to support.
"Instant crying, instant tears," she says. "What do you do? It's $900, you know - almost two weeks worth of work."
Customers at the coffee shop where she works are outraged.
"To get to the scene, you know, and help these people - and then someone has the audacity to do this," says customer Paul Johnson.
Running without hesitation toward a car accident defines Peggy Ray - she's trying to save money for nursing school. The indignity she suffered Saturday on the freeway hurts - but won't change her heart.
"No, it won't. There's more people out there who need help who are good people," she says.
Ray is sure one of the two dozen people who also pulled over at the accident scene took her money. State troopers are investigating the theft and hope a tip might lead to the culprit.
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If you would like to help Peggy Ray with a donation, visit KOMO’s Problem Solvers fund here »
Peggy Ray of Marysville left her own car doors unlocked in that adrenaline-fueled moment as she saw the crash up ahead, pulled over and raced toward the victims who were trapped in their partially submerged vehicle.
"He had blood just coming down his face, he cracked his head pretty hard," she says.
Peggy Ray crawled in the wrecked car through a broken window - and kept the man and his passenger stabilized until firefighters got there to take over.
But when she returned to her car, she got a cruel shock.
"The envelope was out like this," she recounts. "I just looked down, and I thought to myself, 'There is no way, no way ... no.'"
Somebody had stolen $900 from her purse on the front seat while she was helping the crash victims.
"The fact that somebody stole the money we needed for rent - it's just devastating," says Ray.
The cash in that envelope was a small fortune on a barista's salary - with six teenage kids to support.
"Instant crying, instant tears," she says. "What do you do? It's $900, you know - almost two weeks worth of work."
Customers at the coffee shop where she works are outraged.
"To get to the scene, you know, and help these people - and then someone has the audacity to do this," says customer Paul Johnson.
Running without hesitation toward a car accident defines Peggy Ray - she's trying to save money for nursing school. The indignity she suffered Saturday on the freeway hurts - but won't change her heart.
"No, it won't. There's more people out there who need help who are good people," she says.
Ray is sure one of the two dozen people who also pulled over at the accident scene took her money. State troopers are investigating the theft and hope a tip might lead to the culprit.
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If you would like to help Peggy Ray with a donation, visit KOMO’s Problem Solvers fund here »
Assuming this woman's story is true, my biggest problem is that so far she has received AND ACCEPTED over $5,000 in donations. Â She is out only $900 and while I have little issue with her accepting charity to make herself whole again, I have a BIG problem with her continuing to accept money after that point. Â Then she says she'll be donating "some" of the money to charity, well, ALL of the money over the $900 she's out should be going to charity and she should have long ago stopped accepting any more. Â I see her on TV saying her "heart hurts" that people have made negative comments doubting her story. Â Well, my heart hurts to see someone blatantly taking advantage of kind hearted souls hoping to help someone in need. Â Add that to the fact that she has yet to file a theft report for the funds and I have BIG problems with this woman.
Wow...I did't know that Starbucks pay you CASH instead of CHECK !!
some argue this woman money based on the fact is, at least yet. Stop and help people what a wonderful woman. I hope this doesn't stop her from stopping in helping somebody else out. I hope she makes tenfold for money. May God give her great grace. Thanks for people like her and many others
Hey I heard an interview with her on the BJ Shea show this morning. Â That money was going for rent and I find it deplorable that anyone on this board would imply that someone providing medical aid at the scene of an accident is considered anything less than a hero. Â The CASH was going into her landlords bank account. Â Wow what has happened here
 @Terina Owen I missed the conversation with BJ Shea. Is he giving her the full $900 as he stated earlier in the morning?
 @Necrobio That is what he said on the air so guess he is pretty cool to me.  I know what its like to be in that position
Just a low life behind every bush these days....
......maybe he will choke on his meth pipe....kudos to the people who really wanted to help, not just looking for an opportunity to rip somebody off.
Just a sad fact in this day and age that you must always be aware of your surroundings. Its why remaining calm is one of the best attributes you can have. Take the couple of seconds to make sure your vehicle is out of the way and secured before you go to help. Times are a changing people. As the economy will continue to degrade a lot more theft will occur.
Two dozen people stopping at a accident scene in itself is amazing for Washington state, the stealing of someones monies is not...
Geez, people are scum. I hope karma comes around and smacks this thief upside the head for the rest of his/her life!
 @dgruntled I hear this a lot when someone does something like this but why don't we say that about the people who bad things happen to.  Maybe this was also karma for this women? or that Marysville cop, maybe that was karma completing it's cycle?  Never know.
Because there's no such thing as karma. @oledawg
 @oledawg It's because there's no god.
 @Dragnipur I agree but why aren't the people who do believe ever say it, like the ones who praise god for miracles, does god also choose not to save people and let them die? random thoughts!
Absolutely disgusting. Anyone who steals like that is scum. Period.
this is why people should carry a gun everywhere they go, theives won't steal from you if you shoot them
 @Davey Doodle Hard to shoot them if you are nowhere near them, because you're inside a wrecked car helping the crash victims and your car is parked a ways back...did you read the article? I'm not anti gun either, just having trouble finding any relevance in your comment with regard to this particular story.
theives in general need to be shot, if our justice system didn't slap them on the wrist  there would be no theives, we need to be more like iraq, either cut their hands off or the people just need to shoot them. it really was dumb of her to leave her doors unlocked and opened though.
 @Davey Doodle Whereas thievery is unlawful, it also isn't something to murder someone for - justice is to be blind, and it can certainly be turned to an evil on it's own because of that fact.  Don't murder thieves.  Get the murders and rapists on that roll.
Welcome to Washington. The home of the Tweaker.
Oh geez, that's awful. You know, don't give up hope. I had sort of the same think happen. Had a motorcyclist go down in front of me, and stopped to help (firefighter/medic) and wouldn't you know it ...? He robbed me for $80.00. Never got the money back BUT I learned to be a little more aware.
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Sorry such a horrible thing happpened, and please don't let it stop you from Helping at the next incident. It didn't stop me. If you love what you do, and love helping people, the loss of the money hurts, but your actions are what define you and you, in my book, ROCK.Â
Komo, is there a website where we can donate to her? I wouldn't mind chipping in a bit. I can only hope that if I am severely injured in a wreck, that someone like Peggy is there to help me. Please let us know if there is someway to get this woman her rent money.
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@*FreeThinker* @SouthofSeattle How do we know you just not another scammer.
 @*FreeThinker* Thank you!
 @SouthofSeattle I think they've listed it above at the end of the article!
Not surprised by it. These dirtbags who steal just don't care about anything but their own personal damn greedy desires.
Whoever stole that money needs to be shot. Â People like that don't need to be on this earth. Â PERIOD. Â I hope the lady gets help, our community is pretty good about things like this. Â
 @John F. Are you advocating a death penalty for stealing?  I hate thieves but that seems a bit harsh.Â
I may be seeing things, but just watching the news now and have gone back with the DVR remote 3 times to check and that seems to be an empty beer bottle on the floor of the passenger seat. I would also question carrying $900 in cash around in one's purse laying on the front seat. Â
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Not saying that carrying cash is reason to steal from anyone, but it was careless. We've all had "stuff" happen to us because of our own carelessness, and I know this may seem callous, but never would most of us go to a media source and whine about a collection being taken to repay us for such things. She was quoted (live on TV) as saying that $900 was "almost" two weeks salary. That's quite a chunk for a "barrista".  Some of my family members have jobs where they've had years of training and are professionals (one drives semi, the other is a welder) and neither clears $900 in two weeks.
 @Diane Marie Not only that, but she failed to negotiate a cash payment from the victims before helping them. Must be one of those pinko democrats. Certainly not a good Christian Republican.
@coffeedrinker No cause for the political B.S. and nobody suggested asking for payment. Just saying she was careless and paid the price, and many of us have been there, but we don't go on TV and whine about it.
 @Diane Marie Theres no beer bottle in her car. Theres a pair of sandals on the passenger side floor. Time to get your eyes checked.
 @Diane Marie Yeah, boo on you!. Your family members are professionals with years of training and don't clear $900 in two weeks? Perhaps they should look for some further training.Â
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I'm sure the LEA at the scene would have checked out and noted if there were any empty liquor containers in her vehicle. But you know, you, as a professional DVR remote person, would definitely trump any person ACTUALLY at the scene. Maybe you should be on CSI, LOL
@casey42 Your sarcasm is unwarranted. My opinions are my opinions, and I just find it to be that few of us get ripped off and have the "opportunity" to go on TV and whine about our carelessness (leaving $900 in cash in a wallet/purse on the seat of a car in plain view) and then whine about it to get sympathy.  I guess I should apologize for noticing things like the fact she carries $900 in cash around and whines about having to feed SIX kids? Maybe my family members are more responsible for their reproductive habits and live within their means of ONLY earning less than $900 in two weeks.........BTW, any idea howl long it takes to get 3 welding certifications, or go get one's CDL?
Read the story again. RENT MONEY.
 @Diane Marie I don't see a beer bottle. I see a shoe. You need to get your eyes checked.
@SouthofSeattle Look again. It's dark brown and has a "neck" with a label around it. I also saw the shoe and other stuff on the console. As I said, I could have been mistaken and it's a soda bottle..........just happened to be dark brown.Â
 @Diane Marie $900 in two weeks is not very much. Welders make WAY more than that if they actually know how to weld and are certified. Same with Truck drivers, unless they are new and drive for one of the blood sucking companies like Swift or J.B. Hunt or something.
Wow, chuck, glad you are so knowledgeable! No, welders, even with certifications, often do not make more than about $10-$13/hour, and two of my famiy members are certified, one with a marine certifiction. Truck drivers also do not make that much unless they work for a union shop or own their own rig. One family member has had his CDL for over 20 years and unfortunatel YES, drives for "A" company like Swift, but he does what he has to do to feed his family. If you eat, you're patronizing such companies all the time because they're the ones delivering groceries to your food stores!  Your lack of knowledge is astounding............I'm retired FROM the trucking industry, but I know a bit about what money can be made.
Yes, Marge, news flash.........welders must become CERTIFIED if they want any job making more than minimum wage. You might check it out before making a silly comment like that. There are tests involved, and I, for one, am not whining about a thing. I see you're making a stupid comment about a "typo"..........that shows a lot about your intent..........the "a" was not hit hard enough on the keyboard.Â
 @Diane Marie "Certifiction" ?? That creative new word sums up about 99 percent of your ridiculous, whiny complaints about your life. Congratulations, we'll be sure to include your picture next to it when Websters' new edition comes out.Â
 @chuckh0308  @Diane MarieÂ
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I used to work as a barista, troll, and will tell you that $900 is a small fortune that I guarantee she worked her butt off to save up for.
@WAbornnraised @chuckh0308 WHY am I a troll for voicing my opinion? I don't care what she does for a living providing it's legal, but being a barrista is not exactly what most of us would call highly skilled work, nor do they have to "work their butt" off, unless that's the part of their anatomy their using the most.  $900 for two weeks is a lot for most of us and we live on it accordingly. Again, not saying stealing it from her was justified, but maybe she has learned a lesson about handling money more responsibly. Maybe not if she gets it all just given to her.
 @chuckh0308  @Diane Marie Sorry, but 900$ is a lot of money for a mom with six kids.
@SouthofSeattle @chuckh0308 Of course it would be. Just curious, who forced her to even HAVE "6" kids in the first place? $900 for 2 weeks would make it hard to support a single Mom with 2 kids, but the point is the entire situaton resulted from her choices, and they were unfortunately not the most responsible ones.
 @Diane Marie Go away, troll.
@John F. Why is posting my observations and opinions worthy of being called a "troll"? I am not here to disrupt anything, but to merely voice my own observations (watched the newcast 3 times) and my own opinions, which I think I am entitled to have. If anyone is a troll, it's somebody who comments such as you have just done.
 @Diane Marie Wow.........pretty hateful comments.....I hope you are never in this position ... just dont get why anyone feels the need to judge this woman after doing an incredibly brave and compassionate thing., And THEN some jerk steals her rent money!!! Nice
And Susabelle, I HAVE "been there" and come home from work while a single parent raising two young children to find my front door kicked in and everything in my home GONE. The cops took their sweet time even showing up and nobody told my "story" on TV, nor were donations taken up to help me thru until my next payday. I wasn't careless, or left my door unlocked, either. It was kicked in. I had to stay with friends because my landlord evicted me for "damages". Just saying unfortunate stuff happens to many people and even those who are NOT irresponsible/careless.
@Susabelle I find stealing from anyone sad, but then like I said, she was careless and all of us have had bad things happen to us because of our own carelessness. Maybe she'll be MORE careful in the future, that is if next time, she isn't on TV and can get public sympathy. I've been stolen from and nobody came to my aid, even though it left me without rent money or a car.