'Vette thief dies in getaway crash

A collector car theft ended in tragedy, at least for the thief, over the weekend when a crook made off with a 1969 Corvette, then crashed the car and killed himself.

Joseph Richard Matassa, 22, of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania ran the vintage 'Vette into a retaining wall in Plum early Saturday and died at the scene, according to Plum police.

Police said Matassa drove the car into a retaining wall at just short of 1 a.m. about seven miles from where it was stolen. The owners were notified at about 3:30 a.m. and were apparently unaware the car had been taken.


Just wish the nut case hadn't damaged a poor innocent 69 Corvette

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I feel sorry for the car. I hope they can save it!

Thats about 25 min from where I live. Glad I dont have to worry about him stealing my car now.

If he had survived he probably could have sued the guy for the car being unsafe. Like when someone gets hurt breaking into your house. :(

Tim.

If he died, I'm sure the car did, too. Maybe they can salvage the drive train or something. It's a shame about the car.

Just wait till the family gets a lawyer. The Corvette should have been locked away where the prep wouldn't have been temped by it. :sad:

Just wait till the family gets a lawyer. The Corvette should have been locked away where the prep wouldn't have been temped by it. :sad:

Yea...the family of the dead guy will hire an expert who will testify at the civil trial that the braking system of the stolen car was not up to safety standards....which caused the poor, misunderstood young man to die.....

too bad about the car. The thief should be left to rot at the side of the road.