FORT LAUDERDALE — Detectives are asking the public for help in identifying a man who allegedly stole a woman’s car while her 3-year-old daughter was still inside and later abandoned the toddler in Oakland Park earlier this week.
On Wednesday around 8:30 a.m., the Broward County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit was called to a reported theft of a vehicle at 850 W. Commercial Blvd.
During the investigation, investigators learned that a mother and her daughter were involved in a car accident with another driver in the area. While the mother exited her car to exchange information with the other driver, the unknown man jumped into the mother’s vehicle and drove off while her toddler was still in the car seat, BSO said.
Investigators said the mother tried to hold onto the passenger door of her car and yelled to the man that her daughter was still in the car. She held onto the passenger door and was dragged a short distance before falling to the ground as the man drove away.
As the investigation continued, investigators found surveillance video that captured several moments after the crash. First, the man is seen jumping out of the woman’s car to take out her toddler and car seat, leaving them on a sidewalk. Then, in another video, he is seen abandoning the car. And finally, the man is seen using the woman’s credit card at a Family Dollar store.
If anyone recognizes the man or has information about the incident, please call BSO SVU Det. Azucena Rodriguez at (954) 321-4227 or submit a tip through the SaferWatch app. Anonymous tips can be shared with Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org or by dialing **TIPS (8477).
