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'They not only took the car, they took my livelihood and my peace of mind'

Heidi Burnette took the job driving for DoorDash to save money to see her son who is stationed in Germany.

NEW ORLEANS — Still shaken, Heidi Burnette shares her story.

“I had thought that I had parked in a totally different place and then it hit me.”

What hit her is that she became of victim of car theft.

Burnette says she left her job working in the health finance industry after 20 years because driving for DoorDash brought in more than her previous job.

“I wanted extra money to go to Germany to visit my son,” she said.

Her son is in the military. She’s only seen him once in the three years of his deployment.

According to police Burnette’s car was stolen last Thursday at in the 2600 block of Orleans Avenue around 2:00 in the afternoon.

Burnette says after making three calls and waiting three hours, an NOPD officer came to take the report.

That weekend she got a call that her car was found -- totaled.

“They not only took the car, they took my livelihood and my peace of mind,” Burnette said.

Burnette says she has been staying at her mom’s house because she figures whoever stole her car, also has her house keys.

She admits that one of her missteps was leaving the car running when she went to deliver the food. She say it happened so fast.

“So, I pulled up approximately here turned to drop off the bag it’s gone,” she said.

Another misstep: Familiarity.

Burdette says many of the businesses she picks up from for DoorDash would service people in their neighborhood where her car was stolen. That’s why she said she wasn’t too concerned when she got out of her car with it still running.

She says even amid the latest crime surge, she didn’t want to give into fear. She didn’t want to lose hope in community

“I guess I’m just too trusting of a person,” Burnette said. “I believe the good in people still.”

And unlike some others, Burnette says the crime will not run her out of town.

“Oh I’m not leaving, there’s no way, this is home,” she said. “Because I was born here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Broken – maybe -- but not beyond repair.

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