Pa. Man Accused of Pushing Car off Mountain to Make Theft Claim

A Pennsylvania man pushed his Ford Mustang down a mountain as part of a scheme to claim it was stolen, authorities said.

Richard Way Jr., 28, pushed the car down an embankment along Wopsy Mountain in Blair County last year, then reported it had been stolen from the parking lot of a hot dog restaurant, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said.

Way, of Claysburg, was arraigned last week on charges of filing false police reports, theft and insurance fraud.

A cousin, Travis Knox, told police he saw Way remove stereo equipment from the Mustang and was asked to help push the car off a cliff, according to the arrest affidavit. Knox said he refused to help, and told investigators that Way confessed the crime to him a few days later.

Reached at his home, Way declined comment and said a lawyer would speak on his behalf later.

Latest Comments

• January 8, 2008 at 10:37 am

  Nan says:

  Here in MA the authorities have had a field day with fraud and arrests... some years ago in Lawrence a car appeared to be "sitting" on the Merrimack River... it was on top of ... read more
• January 2, 2008 at 10:12 am

  Chad Balaamaba says:

  I'd like to hear more about the 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser that was evidently impaled by the subject Mustang. What a shameful loss to a potential collectors item. That Olds, I th... read more
• January 2, 2008 at 8:02 am

  Dread says:

  Although this is so pathetic it's funny, it speaks to the underlying issue of fraud. There will always be idiots who will do anything (and everything) they can to get what th... read more