Family speaks out after car with daughter’s skates inside stolen days before competition
By Lucy Yang
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WEST ORANGE, New Jersey (WABC) — A family in New Jersey is speaking out after their car, which had priceless personal belongings inside, was stolen from their driveway.
13-year-old Leighton Malone is a synchronized skater. Think figure skater, but on a team. She leaves Wednesday morning for a big competition to qualify for nationals.
“I want to be as dedicated as I can to the team, and I think that requires doing the best that I can,” Malone said.
The 8th grader has worked so hard for the competition, but it was almost taken away.
Last weekend, someone stole her family’s BMW from their driveway in Bloomfield. The problem: Malone’s skates and equipment were in the car.
“She cried for over an hour and she was not consolable. And I, as a mother, I just went into fix-it mode,” Malone’s mother, Dawn, said.
Once the devastation settled, the family purchased another $1,000 pair of skates, but money could not put more days on the calendar to break in the skates before the competition.
Trying to cram in extra sessions on the ice, Malone came in at 6 a.m. on Tuesday to skate before school.
“I definitely want to skate really hard and take advantage of all the practices that we get before we hit the ice and really compete,” Malone said.
Her brother’s cello was also in the car — a $5,000 instrument that he no longer has for practice or performances.
Eyewitness News got a preview of the routine that Malone’s synchronized team will be performing this coming weekend.
As for the person who stole their family’s vehicle, Malone is trying to understand the situation.
“I try to be as empathetic as possible. I hope that they can understand that was something that was valuable to me too. And I really just want my stuff back,” she said.
Malone’s family tells Eyewitness News it takes a minimum of 10-13 hours to be properly break in a new pair of skates. While Malone might not have that luxury, she has something the car thieves cannot steal: her determination.
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