A military family says they lost everything after a moving truck carrying all of their belongings crashed in Arizona last week, leaving their items abandoned and picked through by strangers on the side of the road.
Alejandra and Bert Wing had recently retired and relocated from Hawaii to Fruit Cove, according to a wrenching GoFundMe post that outlines their ordeal.
The couple said they hired a national moving company to handle the transport of their household goods, which were picked up in early July with a promised St. Johns County delivery time of four to eight weeks.
But that estimate would prove horribly inaccurate.
Due to internal delays, their possessions didn’t reach the company’s storage facility until September.
The company then subcontracted two individuals to complete the final delivery to Florida. According to the Wings, the pair stole a Penske truck and loaded up their belongings with the intent to make off with them.
But before they could transport the booty, their truck crashed and flipped near State Route 69 all the way in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on the morning of October 8.
The drivers—posing as legitimate movers—told arriving officers that another team would recover the goods and deliver them to the Wings.
The unidentified pair then fled the scene. The truck itself was towed away, but all of the Wings’ possessions were left strewn on the side of the highway like roadkill.
“It’s like a death,” Alejandra Wing told Arizona ‘s KPLC.
A passerby, assuming the items were discarded, posted an ad online offering “free stuff,” which led to hundreds of people rummaging through the belongings over the next five days.
“Your identity is like totally exposed.,” Wing told the station. “Everybody went through the items and there was sensitive stuff in there.”
The Wings weren’t notified by the moving company of the disaster. Instead, a police officer found documents in the rained on rubble with their names on them and contacted them days later.
“Absolute disbelief. I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Wing said.
Bert Wing, a veteran and retired federal employee, said they’re struggling to regain stability after the nightmare.
“There were some heirlooms in there that are 400 years old,” Bert somberly told the station.
And despite everything, the moving company is continuing to demand payment, the couple said.
“Any help provided would be greatly appreciated,” the couple said in the GoFundMe post. “We have to replace everything.”
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