Jose Lozano has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

The 33-year-old Columbia resident’s primary source of income, a dump truck, was stolen last month, leaving the father of a 10-month-old facing a bleak holiday season.
 
But in the wake of a Nov. 5 article in the Columbia Flier and Howard County Times, Lozano’s truck has been returned,  and he anticipates going back to work in about two to three weeks, as soon as his truck is repaired.

Lozano played with toy trucks as a child in his native El Salvador and dreamed of owning a real truck one day.

In 2005, years after moving to the United States, Lozano secured a business loan for $88,000 and bought a tractor-trailer in Texas. He had it refitted as a dump truck, brought it back to Maryland and, in 2006, began hauling rock and dirt from construction sites. He named his business Lozano’s Dump Trucking.
 
His dream turned sour in October when the truck was stolen while parked only minutes from his Columbia residence, leaving him without his livelihood.

After an article on his plight appeared in the Flier and Times on Nov. 5, one reader called to help him deal with his insurance agency, Lozano said. Then, on Nov. 20, Lozano said he got a call from a Baltimore man whose friend had seen the article, which included a picture of the truck, and that he had seen the truck on the streets of Baltimore.

Lozano said he did not believe the news at first. “I freaked out,” he said. “I thought it was set up. I thought someone was trying to get me out of the house to get me to go to Baltimore.”

He got the address where the truck supposedly was parked and called the city police, who could not find the truck, he said. Eventually, he went to Baltimore, got a police officer to accompany him and found the truck on Sinclair Lane near a Baltimore police station.

“I cried,” he said of his reunion with the truck. “I was really mad but at the same time I was really happy.”
 
He said everything of value had been ripped off of the truck. It had no mirrors, no bumper, no lights, and a DVD and CD player was missing. Even a clipboard he had inside the truck had been stolen.
 
In addition, he said, most of the tires had been taken off the truck, replaced by smaller, cheaper ones.
 
“They put some funky-looking tires on there, something so they could just move it out of the way,” he said.

With the wrong tires, no mirrors, and an engine that was leaking oil, Lozano drove his truck back to Columbia. He estimates he will have to spend about $10,000 to get the truck in working order again, but expects to have the work done by the second week of December, after which he will be back in business.
 
He said he plans to install a “kill switch” to sabotage hot-wiring attempts and a security system that will call him if the vehicle is tampered with.
 
Of his hair-raising drive back to Columbia Lozano said, “It was an experience. I don’t know if I want to do it again.”

---

user comments (1)

user sarh says...

Glad to hear this!! :) It's always nice to read good news.

Posted 8:43 AM, 11.24.09 | Permalink