Audio By Carbonatix

Brittney Mickles-McQuirter can’t seem to catch a break. The teacher at a California Montessori school married security guard Joe McQuirter last October. Then her husband was diagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer. While she was visiting him at UCLA’s Santa Monica Medical Center, a homeless man stole their car from valet parking.

They checked Joe into the hospital on April 18, and he remains in the ICU. Brittney said, “I want to spend as much time as I can with him.” One night she arrived at 11:45 PM, gave the hospital valet parkers the keys to her 2025 Honda CR-V, and went inside to see her husband.

Valet workers later told her that “a homeless man on a bicycle” stole her car. He’d apparently just walked up to the valet desk at the front of the hospital around 2 AM, sorted through the key fobs, and chosen hers. Then he rode a few blocks to the lot where all the cars were stored and used the clicker to find hers. But she must take their word for it, because the hospital won’t let Brittney or the press see the security camera footage.

This obviously isn’t the first time a vehicle’s been stolen from a valet. Miami Beach Police recently released a video of Gregory Yearty “slithering” into a valet booth to steal the keys to $2 million in luxury cars. Police have arrested Yearty but have yet to recover the cars.

Brittney Mickles-McQuirter struggles to find her Honda CR-V, stolen from the valet

Of all the keys the thief could have chosen, he picked Brittney’s. It’s especially surprising considering the ring had an Apple AirTag attached. She’s been tracking the AirTag with her phone. Four times now, her friends have raced to a location she gave them, looking for her Honda. But they’ve always arrived too late. 

Brittney never expected to have her car stolen when she opted for valet parking. “I gave them my key, expecting my car to be there when I got back.” She added, “This is just more time that I’m away from the bedside of my husband.”

The hospital has said, “We apologize for this unfortunate incident. A police report was filed, and our insurance carrier is investigating.”

Brittney added that “officials” gave her a five-day rental car. She had to cover the rental company’s insurance out of pocket, and her rental is about to run out. By “officials,” she may mean the hospital. Let’s hope she “lawyers up” or gets the lawyers from her own insurance company involved. It would seem she’s owed a car, one way or the other. In the meantime, friends have set up a GoFundMe that’s raised an incredible $16,211 for Joe and Brittney.