How the Oxford restaurant manager’s car ended up in Indiana

On By Pranco

Brenda Ordónez
| Fox19

A University of Miami alumnus was convinced he had been the victim of theft after his car disappeared while he was at work, but after receiving an unexpected phone call, he said the truth was deeper than he imagined suggested.

Andrew Santacrose is the manager of Doughby’s on W. High Street in Oxford.

He says he was called to help on November 6.

So, as always, he showed up and drove to his usual parking spot in front of the restaurant.

In a hurry, Santacrose says he accidentally left his keys in his car.

Not long into his shift, surveillance from Doughby’s shows Santacrose serving a customer at the counter, while the window next to him shows his car’s headlights turning on, his car reversing and driving away.

“None of it felt like it was real,” Santacrose described. “Like I was more surprised about it than angry or stressed about it.”

Santacrose filed a report with Oxford police, who investigated, until he received an unexpected phone call the next morning.

“They say they accidentally took my car home and I’m thinking, ‘How can you accidentally take a car home?'” Santacrose wondered.

The Oxford police report shows that an unknown woman picked up a friend who had been drinking that evening.

When the sober woman arrived, the intoxicated friend led her to Santacrose’s car, thinking it was theirs, the police report said.

The pair got into the car and drove all the way to Indiana, the report states.

It wasn’t until the next morning that they realized they had gotten into the wrong car.

“I also asked them on the phone, ‘How did you know how to contact me,’ and I had just had an oil change at Walmart the week before and I think I left my paperwork in the car where my phone number stood up. it,” Santacrose explained. “So, I’m grateful for that.”

Without a strong odor of alcohol, Santacrose says his car was intact and decided not to press charges.

“It’s just important to have empathy and you can’t live a whole life without making mistakes. You’re going to make mistakes and wanting to correct them is very important,” says Santacrose.

He says he will never forget his keys and has a newfound appreciation for what he almost lost.

Santacrose says he won’t press charges.

Ask media partner Fox19 provided this report