This is terrifying! From YouTube:
A couple who stopped for gas in Kansas City, Mo., got the scare of a lifetime as the two thwarted a man's plan to steal their vehicle with their 6-month-old baby in the backseat, police said.
Melanie and Aaron Richman were in the final hours of their move from Colorado to Missouri Monday night when they pulled into a gas station to fuel up. Melanie's mother and brother were part of the family caravan, each driving rented moving trucks. The Richman's two other children, ages 5 and 6, were riding with their grandmother.
The gas station's surveillance cameras captured what initially looked like a routine trip. The Richmans parked their 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, pumped gas, took a trip to the restroom and tried to entertain their 6-month-old daughter, Samantha, who was strapped into her car seat.
"I'm just jumping on the tail end of the car, making it go up and down, just trying to keep her occupied and entertained," Aaron Richman, 22, said. "Just letting my guard down for that split second, everything went to hell."
For a moment, the Richmans walked a few yards from their car to speak with relatives. That's when the surveillance tape showed a man getting into their car, and taking off.
Melanie Richman described her worst nightmare as a parent: "You're never going to see your baby again."
"If he got through the parking lot, we would never see our child," Aaron Richman said, recalling the moment he saw a man take off in their car.
Without thinking, both young parents raced after the car.
"It was really just instinct," Aaron Richmond said. "Everything happened so fast. We really had to react. There was no time to worry about if he had a weapon."
Melanie Richman, 24, said she grabbed onto the moving car as it dragged her through the parking lot, and was able to break the passenger side window with her elbow.
"Holding on for dear life, wherever she was going to go, I was going to go with him," she said. Somehow, her husband managed to dive into the car.
"I was just sitting upside down in the passenger seat kicking him and telling him my baby was in the car. 'You're stealing my car. Get out of my car,'" he said.
Under attack, the would-be carjacker drove onto a curb and ran off. The couple suffered bruises and cuts. Their baby was covered in glass but otherwise unharmed.
The suspect is still at large.
15 Comments
EMPIREsays...Couple of weeks ago, something similar happened here, except the robber had some sense of decency, and the mother was the idiot.
So this woman stops her car in front of the building she lives in, and leaves the car open, with the key in the ignition, and a 6 or 7 year old child and a toddler inside the car, to go up to the apartment and pick up some stuff.
Some guy comes along and steals the car, with both children still inside.
A few miles away, he stops in front of a pharmacy, and tells the older kid to take his sibling inside because their aunt is supposedly waiting for them inside.
The pharmacist obviously didn't knew who they were, so he took them to a police station.
antDon't leave the key in the ignition!
RyjkyjHa! ha! Nice!!! I'll bet they all got the surprise of their life.
TrancecoachDid they really leave the baby inside a running vehicle with the keys in the ignition?
White folks.
Also, did the YT write-up say that the carjacker is a woman, and still "at large." Dude, local police need to get on that.
Crunchysays...I dislike surveillance cameras in general, they don't make me feel any safer just watched (surveilled) but they sure do give us some top-notch entertainment once in a while
KnivesOutWow, those parents are f'ing super-heroes.
Adrenaline is a helluva a drug!
gwiz665I would think that many carjackers would do something similar - going from carthief to kidnapper or murderer is a big, big step. Thieves usually do it for easy money, extortion is hard money, murder is no money.
I read somewhere, where a university professor got his laptop stolen, the thief returned his files and data on a usb stick in the profs mailbox (but kept the laptop). Saved him a hell of a lot of work having to recreate it, and insurance pays for the laptop anyway, so that was a much smaller hassle. The point is criminals are still people, but usually desperate or weak-willed.
>> ^EMPIRE:
Couple of weeks ago, something similar happened here, except the robber had some sense of decency, and the mother was the idiot.
So this woman stops her car in front of the building she lives in, and leaves the car open, with the key in the ignition, and a 6 or 7 year old child and a toddler inside the car, to go up to the apartment and pick up some stuff.
Some guy comes along and steals the car, with both children still inside.
A few miles away, he stops in front of a pharmacy, and tells the older kid to take his sibling inside because their aunt is supposedly waiting for them inside.
The pharmacist obviously didn't knew who they were, so he took them to a police station.
GenjiKilpatrickSurveillance cameras are mainly for gathering evidence. They can act as a deterrent but only for law-fearing citizens.
"Safety" is more of an after thought or convenient side effect.
>> ^Crunchy:
I dislike surveillance cameras in general, they don't make me feel any safer just watched (surveilled) but they sure do give us some top-notch entertainment once in a while
YogiEh why bother if someone wanted my kid that bad, they can have um.
GenjiKilpatrick.
SagemindDon't leave your kids in the car!
I remember when my kids were infants, I made sure I NEVER left them in the car alone even when it was inconvenient for me when it was a 30 second jump out and jump in. Things just happen when you are least expecting it!
Oh, and ya, never leave the keys in there either
>> ^ant:
Don't leave the key in the ignition!
ant>> ^Sagemind:
Don't leave your kids in the car!
I remember when my kids were infants, I made sure I NEVER left them in the car alone even when it was inconvenient for me when it was a 30 second jump out and jump in. Things just happen when you are least expecting it!
Oh, and ya, never leave the keys in there either
<div><div style="margin: 10px; overflow: auto; width: 80%; float: left; position: relative;" class="convoPiece"> ant said:<img style="margin: 4px 10px 10px; float: left; width: 40px;" src="http://static1.videosift.com/avatars/a/ant-s.jpg" onerror="ph(this)"><div style="position: absolute; margin-left: 52px; padding-top: 1px; font-size: 10px;" class="commentarrow">◄</div><div style="padding: 8px; margin-left: 60px; margin-top: 2px; min-height: 30px;" class="nestedComment box">Don't leave the key in the ignition!
</div></div></div>
Leaving kids in there seems OK for 30 seconds as long as it is not hot and stuff. Key is a nono for stealing.
SagemindI know someone who left their kids in the car, ran in to get dry cleaning (2 minutes tops) and came out to find someone had hit their car with the kids inside - It turned out the kids were OK but in an absolute panic without the parent there. I just don't leave them in the car when I am not there. Perhaps my own rule, but still a good one!
>> ^ant:
Leaving kids in there seems OK for 30 seconds as long as it is not hot and stuff. Key is a nono for stealing.
Shepppard>> ^Trancecoach:
Did they really leave the baby inside a running vehicle with the keys in the ignition?
White folks.
Also, did the YT write-up say that the carjacker is a woman, and still "at large." Dude, local police need to get on that.
Shall they wave their magic wands and conjure up evidence?
There's no face in the security camera, the parents don't look like they'd have gotten a good enough view of the suspect to describe them (The father was in the car with them upside-down for about 5 seconds before they took off)
So the only thing they -might- have is fingerprints, and even then, judging by the amount of visible exhaust coming out of the car, that was a cold night, they were probably wearing gloves.
I agree something should be done, but you cant expect something from nothing.
rychanAs a parent of a child that age, I don't blame the parents in the least for this. They're trying to keep their baby comfortable and warm by having him in the car seat with the car's heater on. They didn't step more than 20 feet away from their car. You can't live your life paranoid that people are going to literally jump out of the shadows and steal your baby.
VideoSift, you are so bipolar. One minute you're saying it's ridiculous how over-protective society has become for children, and the next minute you're blaming the victims for a ridiculous carjacking.
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