An Australian father has recalled the terrifying moment he realized his car had been stolen with his sleeping 2-year-old son in the back seat. The unnamed Melbourne man drove his gray Volkswagen Tiguan to the shops to get some ice cream but didn’t want to wake up the toddler, so he ran into the shop. That’s when the unthinkable happened.
The incident, which happened around 3:45 p.m. on January 8 in the Chelsea neighborhood, was every parent’s worst nightmare. The father was less than 100 feet away from the car, which was left running with the air conditioning on when the theft took place. A man climbed in the vehicle and drove off with the 2-year-old boy asleep inside.
Thankfully, the little boy was not hurt. When the thief realized that there was a child in the back seat, he stopped the car. However, instead of heading back to the shops, he simply put the toddler on the side of the road and kept driving. While the child was unhurt, he was “clearly traumatized and upset,” Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Grant Lewis said, per 7News.
The little boy did stay where he was until help arrived. Needless to say, much worse could have happened. “He remained where he was, but he was very distraught,” Lewis said. “A 30C day with lots of cars and lots of traffic. You’d hate to think what could have happened.”
Two men have since been arrested in connection with the theft. An 18-year-old man from Narre Warren and a 20-year-old man from Clarinda were taken into custody at Frankston Shopping Centre on Tuesday, January 10. However, the Volkswagen has not been found.
Lewis said that the men appeared to be cooperating with the investigation, which is ongoing. He added that there are no plans to pursue charges against the father for leaving his 2-year-old unattended. However, he did urge caution in the future.
“It’s a serious matter and we don’t want to victim shame or victim blame, but clearly in future, we’ve got to be mindful … We need to secure our vehicle and keep our kids safe,” he said.
