A pregnant Illinois woman is recovering in the hospital after she was run over by carjackers who stole her vehicle with her 2-year-old son still inside.
The woman, who is six months pregnant, had just taken one of her children inside after arriving home in the northern Chicago suburb of Libertyville on Thursday. When she went back outside to get her 2-year-old, a white BMW pulled behind her VW Atlas, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The male passenger in the BMW got out and tried to steal the VW as the woman fought to protect her son.
The man attacked the woman, knocking her to the ground and taking the car with her son inside, the sheriff’s office said. As the two men in the cars fled, one of them ran over the woman, inflicting serious injuries.
The 34-year-old woman was able to call 911. Luckily, the men left the toddler in a parking lot, and a person inside a business grabbed him before he could wander into a nearby busy road.
The woman is recovering in serious but stable condition at a local hospital.
No arrests have been made.
The VW was later found in a parking lot. Police say the BMW had been stolen from an area car dealership within the past week and ask anyone with information to report it to the sheriffs office at 847-377-4000 or online.
‘Not even for a minute’
What many don’t realize is Thursday’s violent carjacking of a vehicle with a child inside “is not a rare occurrence,” said Kids and Car Safety.
So far this year, the organization has documented 41 children who’ve been left alone in a car that was then stolen.
“Although the victims of these types of incidents typically survive, it is incredibly traumatizing for everyone involved,” according to the organization.
Although parents get busy and may leave a child unattended for just a few seconds, that’s all the time it takes for someone watching to act.
“Never leave a child alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute,” Kids and Car Safety advises in a public service announcement last year, adding that the income level or safety of a given neighborhood doesn’t matter.
“Thieves watch for vehicles to be left unattended with the keys inside,” the group says. “Most of the time, they don’t realize that there is a child inside until after they have already stolen the vehicle.”
More:Thief lectures mom for leaving 4-year-old child in backseat of SUV he stole
Other helpful tips
According to Kids and Car Safety, parents and other caretakers can follow these tips to keep children safe.
- Take advantage of drive-thru windows and curbside pickup.
- If a business doesn’t offer curbside pickup, call them and explain the situation. Most places are happy to help when it comes to protecting small children.
- When pumping gas with kids inside the car, keep the doors locked and the keys on your person.
- Never, ever leave a child alone inside an unattended vehicle.