Georgia man crushed to death while trying to steal catalytic converter: police

A Georgia man was crushed to death by a car while he was allegedly attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a local auto-shop, police confirmed with Fox News Digital. 

According to the Chatham County Police Department, Matthew Eric Smith, 32, was found dead on Tuesday at approximately 9:15 a.m., after a catalytic converter fell and crushed him at South Bound Auto Sales.

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Autoshop owner Mike Abouharb shared that he found the man’s body when he arrived at work in the morning. 

“I didn’t even get close to him,” Abouharb told WTOC-TV. “I called the police right away.”

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Police ruled the death accidental, sharing that Smith’s death was “the result of an attempted catalytic converter theft.”

“Is it worth it? To steal a catalytic converter to sell for $100,” Abouharb told WTOC. “To lose your life? It’s not.”

Catalytic converters are part of a car’s exhaust system and control emissions. They have valuable metals, like platinum and rhodium, that criminals can cut out in seconds and sell to scrapyards.

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Each catalytic converter can fetch more than $1,000 on the black market, and their lack of VIN information or a serial number makes them hard to track.