Carjacker Steals Vehicle With Child Inside
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CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) - A car thief got more than he bargained for when he stole a vehicle from a Coral Springs gas station with a young girl inside.
Police say when the owner of a Kia Optima stopped at the Sunoco at 7801 W Sample Road on Wednesday night and ran into the convenience, another man saw an opportunity.
Surveillance video from the gas station shows a man casually stroll up to the vehicle, walk to the back of it and then squat down. The man makes his way to the driver's side door, gets in and seconds later he races off. The car's owner ran after it to no avail.
The girl's grandmother, who did not wish to be identified in this report, said her niece didn't realize what was going on at first.
"She just said the car was going fast and he look at her and say, 'Get out!' She thought it was daddy. She didn't know what was going on because nobody drive that fast, I guess she got scared, he was driving for too fast," said the woman.
The woman said her niece was terrified when the car pulled out and she realized her step father was not behind the wheel. The child was ordered out of the car on busy Wiles Road, about two miles away from the gas station.
When the crook sped off, the little girl ran across the street. Fortunately for her, Stayana Holder stopped to help her.
Holder was out for her nightly run on Thursday along busy Wiles Road when she saw the 6 year old running towards her.
"She was crying, hysterical and scared," Holder told CBS4's Carey Codd. "I tried my best to calm her down. I just knew that was the right thing to do."
Holder said the child told her that someone stole her stepdad's car and then told her to get out. She said the girl did not want to let her go.
"She held on to me and the cops came and she did not want to go with them," Holder said. "They wanted to take her back to her dad and she wouldn't let me go."
The little girl's family is deeply grateful to Holder, and Holder is happy she could help.
"I'm glad that I saw her and was able to take her in and get her back home safely," Holder said.
The Opitma, which has tag number CQQ V13, is still missing.
Anyone with information on the vehicle's whereabouts, or the man who took it, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.