Car stolen at Regions Hospital valet involved in high speed chase in Oklahoma

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Sue Asbury was visiting a friend at Regions Hospital in St. Paul August 12 when her car was stolen.

Like she had the day before, she pulled up to the hospital valet. Asbury recalls gathering her grandkids out of the backseat, when a man—dressed all in white and looking the part—approached her.

“As I was just coming around the side of my car, a guy came out and said are you here to park your car? I said ‘yes’ and he said ‘how long are you going to be?’ I said about an hour.” He then took her keys and pulled away.

Realizing she had not received a claim ticket, she went inside to the valet kiosk.

“He’s like what are you talking about and I explained what happened and he said, ‘ma’am your car just got stolen.’”

St. Paul Police reviewed surveillance video, and one officer took off to try and catch the vehicle, but they came up empty.

A week and a half later, Asbury received a phone call from the scene of a high speed police chase in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested Roberto Balboa, 48, and Ayde Balboa, 42, after a 32 mile chase near the Texas border. Troopers eventually stopped the duo by running the car off the road.

But the arrests haven’t been the end of Asbury’s two week-long nightmare.

“Every step I’ve taken so far it’s come out of pocket,” said Asbury from the driveway of her Coon Rapids home.

According to Asbury, her car insurance provider—American Family Insurance—has told her in order to get the damage assessed she needs to bring the car back to Minnesota—at her expense, or wait up to a week to get an outside assessor to survey the damage. That’s because the company doesn’t do business in Oklahoma.

Every day the car sits in the impound lot, Asbury is charged $18.50.

And while she says she had “full coverage,” she’s finding out her coverage may not be enough to cover an auto theft that crosses state lines.

“They say you need an extra policy for this reason, or that reason, and now I’m finding out there is no policy for a car taken out of the state,” she said. “Even if it’s stolen.”

Update (Aug. 29) 

American Family Insurance responded to the story, saying they were sending an outside assessor to look at Asbury’s car.

A spokesperson told Fox 9 Asbury would be reimbursed for any charges she incurred during the ordeal, including any impound lot charges.

As of August 29, the company said the case was closed and all complaints or issues cleared up with the customer.