A tow truck operator in Florida has been charged with a third-degree felony after towing away a vehicle with a child still inside.
On December 14, Sergio Suarez, the driver, removed a car parked unlawfully in a fire lane outside a restaurant in Sunrise, seemingly unaware that a young girl was still in the vehicle.
Surveillance cameras captured the girl’s father waiting inside Bistro Creole Restaurant, clearly unaware of the developing situation.
According to police reports, the father stated he had only left his daughter alone in the car for a brief two minutes before witnessing the truck arriving to tow it away, as reported by WSVN.
In a frantic attempt to alert Suarez, the father rushed outside, banging on the truck’s window to notify him that his four-year-old daughter was in the back seat.
Suarez allegedly ignored the father’s urgent appeals, fearing the situation might escalate into aggression, according to an arrest report cited by ABC News.
Instead, he pulled away, leaving the panicked dad to dash after him.
‘The driver is speeding, and the dad is behind, screaming, ‘My daughter is in the car, my daughter is in the car, my daughter is inside,’ a witness told WSVN.
Sergio Suarez, 34, was arrested after towing a car that had a little girl still inside
The father of the little girl reportedly ran after the tow truck in a panic, yelling and banging on the windows
The father was inside of Bistro Creole Restaurant in Sunrise, Florida and said he’d only left his daughter alone for two minutes
He can be seen in footage of the incident running after the tow truck on foot, even yanking open the door of his own gray sedan as it was pulled away.
Despite the terrified father’s efforts, Suarez, 34, kept on driving.
When it became clear that Suarez was not going to stop, the horrified father ‘observed his daughter fall out of the vehicle and into the roadway,’ per the arrest report.
Some witnesses reported that she jumped out to escape the terrifying chase.
The father ‘immediately ran into traffic, picked up his daughter from the middle of West Oakland Park Boulevard and moved her to safety,’ said the report per WCVB.
She suffered ‘superficial injuries’ to her arms and leg. She was taken to the hospital and treated for scrapes and bruises.
Her dad told reporters that she was recovering just fine.
Even before Suarez pulled away, the unidentified father was banging on the tow truck window
The dad ran out of the restaurant the moment he notices his car being pulled away
Even after the little girl fell out, officers said Suarez continued driving away.
That is, until authorities called Suarez’s company – All-Ways Towing & Storage –and instructed the runaway driver to bring the vehicle back to the restaurant.
Police said Suarez tried to stealthily drop off the car and flee, but he was quickly arrested.
He allegedly admitted to officers that he failed to check the car for passengers before towing it.
The tow truck driver also reportedly divulged that he ‘received multiple calls’ from his company that there was someone in the vehicle.
But he claimed that he pulled over to check and no one was inside, per the report.
When Suarez appeared in court on December 15, his attorney stated that the defendant checked the vehicle ‘three times and there was no child inside.’
As the dad pursued the tow truck on foot, he yanked open the back door. His daughter later fell out of the car
The dad (pictured) said his daughter would be okay after being treated for ‘superficial’ injuries
‘He doesn’t know how it came about,’ his lawyer said.
Suarez was arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. He was released on a $10,000 bond.
He was advised to avoid driving until further notice.
It is unclear whether the girl’s father will face charges for leaving her alone in the vehicle.
The Daily Mail contacted the Sunrise police for more information.
