OXFORD, Ohio (WXIX) – A Miami University graduate believed he was the victim of a theft after his car went missing while he was at work, but he said the truth was beyond what he imagined after receiving an unexpected phone call.

Andrew Santacrose is the manager of Doughby’s on W. High Street in Oxford.

He said he was called to work on Nov. 6 to help.

He showed up like he always did and parked in his usual parking spot in front of the restaurant.

In his haste, Santacrose says he accidentally left his keys in his car.

Not long into his shift, surveillance from inside Doughby’s shows Santacrose serving a customer at the counter while his car’s headlights turn on in the window next to him, his car starts up again and drives off.

“None of it felt real,” Santacrose explained. “It was like I was more stunned than angry or stressed about it.”

Santacrose filed a report with Oxford police, who continued the investigation until they received an unexpected call the next morning.

“They say they took my car home by accident, and I say, ‘Well, how do you take a car home by accident?’ “I think,” Santacrose wondered.

The Oxford police report states that an unknown woman came to pick up a friend who had been drinking that night.

When the sober woman arrived, her drunk friend took her to Santacrose’s car, thinking it was theirs, according to the police report.

The two got in the car and drove to Indiana, according to the report.

They realized the next morning that they had gotten into the wrong car.

“I also asked them on the phone, ‘How did you know how to contact me?’ I had gotten an oil change at Walmart the week before and I think I left my paperwork in the car with my phone number on it,” Santacrose explained. “So I’m grateful for that.”

Santacrose said his car was intact, except for a strong odor of alcohol, and he decided not to press charges.

“Having empathy is so important, and you can’t go your whole life without making mistakes, you’re going to make mistakes and wanting to fix them is really important,” says Santacrose.

He says he will never forget his keys again and becomes aware again of what he almost lost.

Santacrose says he is not pressing charges.

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