A 1955 Dodge Coronet police car owned by deceased Route 66 legend Albert Okura was stolen on Christmas Day from the headquarters of the family’s Juan Pollo restaurant chain in San Bernardino, California.
Okura’s son Kyle told the San Bernardino County Sun his father acquired the car many years ago. The vehicle purportedly was used in the “Highway Patrol” TV drama that aired from 1955 to 1959.
“It was one of my dad’s prized cars,” son Kyle Okura said Friday, Dec. 27. “I think he liked it because it was from the show and it had that vintage look to it. It was kind of a symbol of Americana.” […]
He theorized that with the business closed on the holiday, someone saw an opportunity for a joy ride.
“I don’t think it was per se targeted because of what they thought it was worth,” Okura said.
The car was one of several that company employees drove in parades. San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran was a passenger in it during this year’s Community Ho Ho Parade.
Albert Okura also purchased the Route 66 town of Amboy, California, in 2005. The town’s Roy’s Motel & Cafe page on Facebook told readers to keep an eye out for the patrol car:
In 1998, Okura built a McDonald’s museum on the site of the original restaurant in San Bernardino, also off Route 66.
Okura died in 2023 at age 72.
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