One-of-a-kind Aston Martin stolen from SJ parking lot days after saved from CZU fire

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police are searching for a stolen trailer and car that is far beyond the average case of theft.
 
The trailer contains a rare race car that’ is more artwork than machine. Both vehicles were stolen from a San Jose parking lot last week.
 
“I’m kind of the car nanny for those cars,” said Ken Lovejoy, owner of Q’s Workshop, which specializes in restoring and repairing classic Aston Martins. “They’re just part of my life, you know?”
 
The case of this missing Martin starts after the CZU Fire Complex forced Boulder Creek evacuations. The Lovejoy family left Sept. 8, but Ken was able to load the 1973 handmade V8 into a trailer. The goal was to keep it safe for the owner.
 
“He was really shaken, but also very worried about his house. But excited he was able to protect his friend’s things,” said Paul Kitchen, the owner of the Aston Martin.
 
With only a handful remaining worldwide, Lovejoy locked the Aston Martin inside a trailer in a parking lot in the 1400 block of Atteburry Road in San Jose. He then checked into a hotel as a fire evacuee. A day later, thieves cut the fence, the locks, and then drove off with the trailer and Aston Martin.
 
“The following day, I started feeling pretty ill and ended up in the hospital,” said Lovejoy.
 
He said the stress of the theft triggered pre-existing heart problems, resulting in a heart attack. While some have said, “It’s just a car,” experts tell KTVU it’s more that. In a year that’s produced COVID, fires, unbreathable air, and toxic politics, the next major personal stress can be a tipping point for anyone.
 
“As you keep adding more and more stressors to the mix, it’s certainly possible any of us, or all of us, have a certain breaking point. Whether that’s mentally or physically,” said Dr. Thomas Plante, a Santa Clara University psychologist.
 
San Jose police say they’ve registered the Aston Martin as stolen. But the car is designed for racing not street driving.
 
“I guess if you took it all apart the pieces off of it you could do something with. But it’s so rare it won’t fit into any other car,” said Lovejoy.
 
He is finally resigned to the fact that the deed done and catching the criminals rests in the hands of Karma. His friends and customers are rallying around him, noting, the car may be one of a kind, but so is Ken Lovejoy.