A San Francisco man who relies on his car to make a living is asking for help getting his stolen Nissan SUV back.

Yusuf Soylemez recently started delivering food working for Uber Eats after he was laid off from his job at a restaurant that closed when the shelter in place order went into effect.

Surveillance video from Friday about 2 p.m. shows a man wearing a backpack getting into Soylemez's SUV parked on Mission at 14th street and driving off. It is a 2017 Silver Nissan Rogue with California license plate 8GZW664.

"I feel so sad because I never think this would happen to me because I just started to work with Uber ten days ago," said Soylemez.

He said he made the mistake of leaving his keys in the ignition because it was a quick drop-off.

The customer was meeting him outside the building.


He said the theft took place in a matter of seconds.

"When I turn my back, I see my car run away. I ran after him because there was a red light, but he didn't even stop," said Soylemez.

The thief wore a black face mask, orange shirt and a black baseball cap

Soylemez said he's heartbroken, "I was working at a restaurant before that happened. We all got laid off because of the coronavirus."

He had worked for Alioto's Restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf as a server before the shelter in place order.

"My rent, my insurance. I have to work," said Soylemez.

Police say car thefts are up 11 percent in San Francisco the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.

"It should remind everyone you can't leave your vehicle or your valuables in vehicles even for a moment," said San Francisco Police Officer Robert Rueca.

Soylemez says he's applied for unemployment but has not received any money yet

His SUV was financed. He said he still owes $11,000 on it.

He said he's filed a claim with insurance but there's a $2,000 deductible.

"I have a little bit of savings. Maybe it'll be enough for a week or ten days. After that, I don't know what happens," said Soylemez.

He hopes the thief will have a change of heart and leave the suv somewhere where it will be found.

He said the FasTrak transponder that was stolen along with his SUV shows activity during the past few days and that someone is using it to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

He hopes that information will help police recover his vehicle.

To contact Soylemez, email him here.

Amber Lee is a reporter for KTVU. Email Amber at amber.lee@foxtv.com and follow her on Twitter@AmberKTVU