Car theft in Oakland Park, Florida: Broward County Sheriff’s Office releases video of passersby helping child abandoned by car thief

OAKLAND PARK, Fla. — The Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is looking for a man who police say stole a woman’s car and drove away in her SUV while her child was in the backseat.

According to BSO spokeswoman Claudinne Caro, the incident occurred around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at 850 W. Commercial Blvd. in Oakland Park.

“The initial investigation revealed that the victims, a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, were involved in a car accident with another vehicle,” Caro wrote in a news release. “When the mother exited her car to exchange information with the other driver, an unknown male adult entered her car and began to drive away with the child inside.”

According to authorities, the mother grabbed onto the front passenger door of her white SUV and shouted to the thief that her daughter was in the vehicle.

Caro said the woman was pulled into the vehicle before she fell to the ground.

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Detectives later obtained surveillance footage of the car thief.

“The person is first seen getting out of the vehicle with the child in the car seat and leaving the child (ON) pavement. Another moment shows the subject abandoning the vehicle. “The final video shows the subject using the victim’s credit card at a Family Dollar store,” Caro wrote in a press release.

The footage then shows two people rushing to care for the small child.

Anyone with information on the man’s identity or whereabouts is asked to contact BSO Special Victims Unit Detective Azucena Rodriguez at 954-321-4227 or submit information via the SaferWatch app.

Anyone wishing to remain anonymous is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at brordcrimestoppers.org or by calling **TIPS (8477) from any cell phone in the United States United States.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.