News

By Rich Pollack

As he dodged a fleeing car that had suspiciously parked in his circular driveway, 85-year-old Bob Ganger instinctively recalled tumbling lessons he learned during his school years decades ago.

“I did a couple of somersaults,” said Ganger, who lives in Gulf Stream and is a former Gulf Stream vice mayor and longtime community leader.

Bruised and suffering from cuts and scrapes on his knees and elbows, Ganger managed to get to his feet and call for help. Paramedics from Delray Beach Fire Rescue responded quickly, as did two Gulf Stream police officers, but the car that Ganger believes was a red Ford Thunderbird was long gone.

Police, using license plate readers in both Delray Beach to the south and Ocean Ridge to the north, identified one Thunderbird traveling soon after the incident but it turned out to belong to a 77-year-old Delray woman who was returning from Publix.

Ganger said the car brushed him as he tumbled out of the way, and he spent one night in the hospital. He said the incident highlights the need for cameras along State Road A1A in Gulf Stream, especially in light of a rash of auto thefts.

Several town leaders, including Mayor Scott Morgan and Police Chief Ed Allen, don’t believe the cameras are needed.

As of mid-December, the town had 11 stolen vehicles reported in 2020, all of which were high-end vehicles unlocked and with keys left inside.

While Ganger believes additional cameras could serve as a deterrent to law breakers, Morgan says a review by the Police Department presented to town leaders demonstrated that the cameras in Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge are sufficient and that resources would be better used elsewhere.

“Since Gulf Stream is already well covered for camera identification of suspect vehicles, our commission concluded that additional funding should be directed toward trying to prevent crimes from occurring, rather than just photographing after-the-fact activity,” Morgan said.

With that in mind, the town authorized adding another officer and another vehicle to patrol the community.

“We believe this is a better deterrent to crime than redundant camera equipment,” Morgan said.

Allen agrees and says he suspects the car thefts are the work of professional criminals who won’t be stopped by additional surveillance.

The car thieves, he says, are fairly sophisticated and know where cameras are and how to work around them. In most cases, the crooks usually travel by pairs in rental or stolen cars that are hard to track.

That was likely the case in the incident that occurred in Ganger’s driveway late on a Sunday afternoon.

It was about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 22 and halftime of the Miami Dolphins game when Ganger stepped outside and found a car with dark tinted windows in his driveway. He could tell two people were inside and one appeared to be on the phone.

Thinking the occupants might need directions or other assistance, Ganger approached the car from the driver’s side and asked — through the closed window — if he could help.

That’s when the car bolted, brushing Ganger.

“It didn’t occur to me to connect this with the car thefts,” he said.

In what he believes could be more than a coincidence, Ganger saw another car pull into his driveway on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks later.

“Two weeks later to the day, damned if another car didn’t come and park in my driveway in the exact same spot,” he said.

This time the occupants saw Ganger, who was in a tree and doing yard work, and took off on their own.

Although Ganger hopes town leaders will revisit the idea of cameras to augment those in neighboring towns, the police chief is continuing to encourage residents to lock their cars and not leave valuables — or keys — inside.

Police also recommend that residents call them immediately if they see a suspicious incident and try to avoid any confrontations.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Allen said.

CORRECTION: The December edition of The Coastal Star incorrectly reported the name of Gulf Stream’s newest police officer. He is Justin Menard.