A Vallejo family, hoping to start a new chapter in their lives, are now digging through their damaged belongings after someone stole their full moving truck and crashed it into an apartment.
After loading up a rental truck with most of their belongings Thursday morning, the Boykins family went back into their Vallejo apartment to grab some last items. But when they returned, the truck was gone.
“We looked out and we saw glass in the street, and we were like 'Oh my god, someone stole the truck,'” said Joya Boykins.
The thief, then drove the 26-foot-long Penske truck into an apartment complex just a few miles away. The Vallejo Fire Department said that no one was hurt but several people were displaced.
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“When I see the apartment, I was just in awe," said Charles Boykins. "And then when I seen the truck and just how it was completely smashed in and I've seen my kids doll house hanging out the side of the truck, broken, it was just like, a horrible feeling came over me."
Boykins family said their daughter’s tai kwon do trophies and an antique dresser were destroyed and they are still looking for treasured keepsakes, including a century old family album.
“60% of what was in there, maybe even 70% of what was in there, was just all destroyed,” said Joya Boykins.
The Boykins later learned the person that stole the rental truck managed to dump some of their furniture before crashing into the apartment complex.
After receiving a tip online Saturday, Charles Boykins discovered all four of his children’s beds were ditched in a nearby field.
“They were just like thrown back there in like some dirt,” he said.
Joya Boykins told NBC Bay Area Saturday the family is moving from Vallejo to Washington state, so she can start school Monday to become a nurse. She added the ordeal made an already stressful situation worse.
“It feels like we lose humanity when people do things like that,” she said.
The family said that they are grateful no one inside the apartment was hurt. While they are shaken, they will not be deterred. They have already loaded up another truck and plan to drive to Washington state Sunday.
NBC Bay Area reached out to Vallejo police Saturday to see if any arrests have been made in this case, but did not hear back.
