Rachel Crystal from What's Cooking Lunch Bar was robbed at 3am Thursday.
A lunch bar worker described by her boss as a “godsend” is now without a car after a balaclava-wearing man holding an axe burst through the back door, swore at her and grabbed her car keys.
Rachel Crystal had just arrived at her work, What’s Cooking Lunch Bar on Vaughan Rd in Rotorua, at 3am yesterday to start making food for the day ahead of the lunch bar opening at 5am.
It was hot inside the lunch bar so about 3.10am she decided to leave the back door open to let in some air. She heard a rustling noise that sounded like keys or coins and thought a delivery was being made.
“Then I saw him out the corner of my eye and he had a balaclava and an axe in his hand and he was sort of jumping around looking.”
Crystal said he snatched her car keys that were sitting on a bench nearby on top of her phone and said “f*** you bro” before running back out the back door.
The stolen 2002 Toyota Echo four-door hatch looked similar to this vehicle but also had red-trim mag wheels.
“I was just freaking and thinking ‘what the f***, is this a joke, what is he doing?’ He looked kind of nervous, he was jumping around and looking around.”
He tried to start the car but the white Toyota Echo four-door hatch had an immobiliser which only started if a button was pushed a certain way.
Crystal said she could hear the car beeping as the offender tried to figure it out. Eventually, the car started and he drove off.
When he left she locked the door and called the police.
Police arrived within five minutes. Her car and the offender are yet to be found.
Rachel Crystal from What's Cooking Lunch Bar on Vaughan Rd. Photo / Andrew Warner
Crystal said her ordeal left her frightened and she didn’t sleep well on Thursday night.
She bought the car a year ago but only had third-party insurance so the theft isn’t covered.
“It only cost $2000 but it got me to work every day.”
Crystal is determined to put her ordeal behind her. She said she had worked full-time at the lunch bar for five years and had only taken four days off last year when she got Covid.
After police took her statement, she carried on working the rest of the day and returned to work as normal early this morning.
What’s Cooking Lunch Bar owner Roy McNicoll said Crystal was a good worker and it was distressing this happen to her.
McNicoll said it was a busy lunch bar and, ideally, he would have another two workers so he didn’t have to work as many hours, but it was hard to find good dedicated staff like Crystal.
“She’s a godsend. It always happens to the best ones.”
Crystal described the man as Māori, of stocky build, of average height and wearing a black balaclava, either a grey or light-coloured T-shirt, light-coloured shorts and sneakers.
Her car is a white 2002 Toyota Echo four-door hatch, registration ATH621.
A police spokesman said police were making inquiries following a report of a man entering a bakery, taking keys and stealing a car. Police are working to identify and find the man.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
