Worker’s truck shot up in Cook’s Corner mass shooting is restored by Lake Forest shop
Savannah Hopkins, a pregnant employee of Cook’s Corner who survived the August 23 mass shooting that left three dead, receives her Ford F150 pick-up truck that was badly damaged by bullets during the shooting, and that was repaired at no cost to her at Elite Automotive Services in Lake Forest, during a special event on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owner Ziad Traieh shows Savannah Hopkins, who was an employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting on August 23 that left three people dead and extensive bullet damage to Hopkins’ pick-up truck, her newly repaired truck that was fixed at no cost to her despite over $18,000 in damage and 165 hours of required work, at the Lake Forest repair shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owner Ziad Traieh gives a hug to Savannah Hopkins, who was an employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting on August 23 that left three people dead and extensive bullet damage to Hopkins’ pick-up truck, as she picked up her newly repaired truck that was fixed at no cost to her despite over $18,000 in damage and 165 hours of required work, at the Lake Forest repair shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Savannah Hopkins, a pregnant employee of Cook’s Corner who survived the August 23 mass shooting, gets the chance to meet OC Sheriff’s Deputy James Gotts, who was one of the responding officers to the shooting, as she picked up her newly fixed Ford F150 pick-up truck that was extensively repaired from bullet damage at Elite Automotive Services in Lake Forest on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
About a dozen employees of Elite Automotive Services in Lake Forest, who put about 165 hours into repairing the bullet-ridden truck of Savannah Hopkins, who survived the mass shooting at Cook’s Corner on August 23, stand with the truck as they get ready to return it to her at no cost despite over $18,000 in repairs, on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owners Eddie Yau, left, and Ziad Traieh hand car keys to Savannah Hopkins, who was an employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting there on August 23, and whose pick-up truck was badly damaged by dozens of bullet holes, after their team spent about 165 hours and $18,000 of work to repair the truck at no cost to Hopkins, in front of their Lake Forest shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owners Ziad Traieh, left, and Eddie Yau, center left, stand with Savannah Hopkins, who was a pregnant employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting on August 23 that left three people dead and extensive bullet damage to Hopkins’ pick-up truck, and Lake Forest Mayor Doug Cirbo, right, as Hopkins was reunited with her Ford F150 pick-up truck that was repaired at no cost to her at the Lake Forest repair shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owner Ziad Traieh shows Savannah Hopkins, who was an employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting on August 23 that left three people dead and extensive bullet damage to Hopkins’ pick-up truck, her newly repaired truck that was fixed at no cost to her despite over $18,000 in damage and 165 hours of required work, at the Lake Forest repair shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Savannah Hopkins, a pregnant employee of Cook’s Corner who survived the August 23 mass shooting, recounts her ordeal to members of the media in a conference room at Elite Automotive Services in Lake Forest, where she picked up her truck, which had been badly damaged by gun fire, and repaired free of charge to her, on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Elite Automotive Services co-owner Ziad Traieh shows Savannah Hopkins, who was an employee at Cook’s Corner during a mass shooting on August 23 that left three people dead and extensive bullet damage to Hopkins’ pick-up truck, her newly repaired truck that was fixed at no cost to her despite over $18,000 in damage and 165 hours of required work, at the Lake Forest repair shop on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Savannah Hopkins, a pregnant employee of Cook’s Corner who survived the August 23 mass shooting that left three dead, receives her Ford F150 pick-up truck that was badly damaged by bullets during the shooting, and that was repaired at no cost to her at Elite Automotive Services in Lake Forest, during a special event on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
The truck’s owner, Savannah Hopkins, who was working at the beloved roadhouse grill tucked away in Trabuco Canyon, has told reporters and officials that when she came face-to-face with the shooter she told him she was pregnant and he told her to run.
Hopkins, who is due in January, sat in a conference room at the Elite Automotive shop on Thursday and spoke more about her experience before heading outside to accept the return of her restored truck.
The community had rallied to help her through a GoFundMe her family organized after the shooting to repair the vehicle, raising about $18,000, but Elite Automotive did the work for free. Lake Forest Mayor Doug Cirbo delivered a resolution of thanks from the city to owners Ziad Traieh and Eddie Yau and their crew on Thursday. Some deputies who had responded that night were also in attendance.
