Margaret Heit with the donated car.

DEARBORN — Henry Ford College nursing student Margaret Heit did not expect to see her car on the news after it was stolen from her home in Southgate last month.

Heit’s 1999 Jeep Cherokee was involved in a tri-county high-speed chase down I-96 on Feb. 29. The chase, which exceeded 90 mph and was broadcast live on local news stations, ended on Telegraph Road when the thieves totaled the car.

To help Heit, who has no other means of transportation, The Henry Ford College Foundation partnered with LaFontaine Automotive Group, the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations to donate a new car to the student.

Heit, 21, said she learned her car was crashed in a car chase when her boyfriend texted her a link to a news article about it.

When she read it, Heit said she was “blown away.”

“I was like ‘whoa, that really is my car and it’s totaled and I’m not getting it back,'” Heit told The Arab American News.

She said she woke up to find her Jeep missing from her driveway the Thursday before the chase on Monday.

“Waking up and not having your car in your driveway, not knowing what happened to it and it’s a mystery until you find out that it got totaled on the news in a high speed car chase, it was just horrible,” Heit said.

She added that a particular sticker on the back of the car further confirmed that it was hers.

Surrounded by reporters, an overwhelmed Heit said she was shocked when the school’s vice president of student affairs contacted her about giving her a new car for free.

“I couldn’t be more thankful,” Heit said. “I’m so blessed. Who would’ve though all of this could happen from my car getting stolen and totaled.”

The student offered a piece of advice for those battling through tough times.

“No matter what you’re going through, there’s always gonna be a brighter side,” she said. “I was so down, I hit rock bottom; I didn’t know what to do. It’ll turn around. Just keep your hopes up, keep your faith up and you will be blessed.”