A woman was caught on camera lunging herself onto the bonnet of a moving Mercedes Benz in an effort to stop a thief from escaping with a baby strapped inside.
Herald Sun reported that the footage was taken on Tuesday at around 3pm when a four-wheel-drive Mercedes Benz was stolen from a mother at a school pick up in Melbourne’s north.
In the footage released by police, the car was driving down a Melbourne road moments after it was stolen, showing a woman, who was later identified as the friend of the baby’s mother, on the bonnet of the 4WD banging on the windscreen.
Police said the driver ignored the woman and continued to drive with her on the bonnet for 400 metres until she fell off. Thankfully, she was uninjured.
The baby girl’s mother can then be seen running down the road, chasing the car, which still had her six-month-old girl, identified as Amira, in the backseat, sleeping.
It was later learned that the mother was waiting to pick up her three primary school-aged children from a Coburg school when the car was stolen. She said she was standing just beside the car with the engine still running when a man entered the driver’s seat and took the vehicle.
The mother immediately jumped at the vehicle but was unable to stop the man before he took off.
Police reported that another man, believed to be in cahoots with the man in the driver’s seat, escaped in a silver Toyota Camry sedan with a rear spoiler.
The mother’s vehicle was then found a short time later dumped in Haig Avenue about three kilometres from the corner of O’Hea and Ross Street where it was first stolen.
Police said that a man was seen leaving the Mercedes when he dumped it in Haig Avenue. They added that the man told a witness there was a baby in the car and he didn’t know what to do with it.
The baby girl was reportedly safe and well when she was found, and was returned to her mother. She was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for medical assessment.
Police said that the thief was described as European in appearance, about 30-years-old, wearing a light coloured t-shirt, dark pants, and with dark wavy hair, while the other man is in his late 20’s with dark hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a green t-shirt and dark pants.
A manhunt is now underway for the thief and his alleged accomplice.
Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and Au.news.yahoo.com
