Authorities are hoping videos will help catch a man who carjacked a woman in Oakland Park and drove off with her young child in the back seat then left her on the side of the road.
The carjacking happened around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at 850 W. Commercial Boulevard.
Broward Sheriff's Office officials said the mother and 3-year-old daughter were involved in a crash with another vehicle and when the mother got out to exchange information with the other driver, a man got into her vehicle and drove away with the 3-year-old still inside.
The mother grabbed onto the vehicle's door and yelled at the man that the child was still inside but he drove away, dragging the mother until she fell to the ground.
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NBC6 spoke with the mother by phone on Friday.
"Out of nowhere this guy came inside the car and I grabbed on to the car and I was telling him 'my baby my baby!'" said the mother, who didn't want to be identified.
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A dashcam video released by BSO Friday showed the carjacking suspect removing the child, who was still in her car seat and leaving her on a sidewalk.
Moments later, two people are seen approaching the child to help her.
"I was just scared, like, how things are right now everywhere in the world," said the mother. "I was just thinking maybe I wasn’t going to see her again or something and I was just scared, because she’s a little baby."
Another surveillance video shows the man later ditching the vehicle, while a third video showed him using the mother's credit card at a Family Dollar store.
The mother said her cat had also been inside the car at the time, since they were heading to a veterinarian, but she said the cat was found safe after the suspect ditched the car.
"Thankfully, thankfully the baby was okay in this situation and there were good Samaritans that were there and saw this happen and helped out," BSO spokesperson Miranda Grossman said. "This could have been much worse."
The man who was driving the truck that had the dash camera rolling is Jorge Rosario, who spoke with NBC6 over the phone Friday.
“My heart dropped when I saw that, when he left her right there on the side,” Rosario said.
Rosario got out to help and called 911. When he reflected on what he witnessed, he’s glad he had his camera.
“At least it helped for something,” Rosario said. “I got two grandchildren, a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old and that's the first thing that came to my mind.”
Authorities are still searching for the suspect and a $5,000 reward is being offered in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to call BSO at 954-321-4227.
