Couple welcoming first child outraged after car broken into at Geraldton’s St John of God Hospital carpark

A Geraldton family is devastated after their brand new car was broken into and ransacked in a hospital carpark while they were welcoming the birth of their first child last weekend.

The young couple, who did not want to be identified, were one of four victims left with damaged cars after a string of vehicle break-ins at St John of God Geraldton on Sunday.

Their first child, a baby boy, was delivered on Sunday morning.

These latest break-ins come after at least 10 cars parked at St John of God and Geraldton Health Campus were broken into on New Year’s Eve.

The new father said he rushed his wife in labour to hospital on Saturday afternoon and he was pulled away from the birthing room and informed of the bad news involving their damaged Nissan X-Trail.

“I went out and saw the damage and it was quite a shock. From a distance I could see something hanging from the car, they ripped the entire rearview mirror out,” he said.

“The front windscreen was cracked, they couldn’t break into the driver’s side window so they smashed the passenger window and climbed over the baby car seat which hadn’t even been used yet — it was trampled over and damaged.”

He said his wife’s sunglasses were stolen, the service booklets had been sifted through and the leather seats and interior was scuffed.

The new father said the car, only two weeks old with an odometer reading of less than 1000km, was one of four vehicles broken into that night.

He said in the past his Toyota Corolla was broken into when he trained at Snap Fitness and was “sick and tired” of it occurring with no repercussions.

“I just want to bring awareness. It’s easy to forget and push it to the side. Stop giving them multiple chances. If they’re on Centrelink, give them a bill and take it out of their payments,” he said.

“I spoke to the panel beater who said the car would be out of action for at least two months — everything will need to be ordered from Japan.”

The victim said it was disheartening people would target people’s property who may be in a vulnerable position in hospital.

“To go to a hospital where vulnerable people are, or where life-changing scenarios are happening, is quite sad. You would expect that in a third world country,” he said.

The father said he didn’t allow the incident to take away from the big moment and focused his attention on what was happening inside the hospital.

“I made sure she (his wife) didn’t know, because the focus had to be on her and our baby. That was the bigger gift — it’s still materialistic things at the end of the day,” he said.

“I won’t walk with hate and wish bad things on the people that did it but I think there needs to be change.”