carjacking

Carjacker Steals SUV With Baby Inside From DC Gas Station

The woman has serious injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening

NBC Universal, Inc.

A woman was pumping gas in Northwest D.C. Tuesday morning when a man jumped into the driver's seat and took off with her baby still inside.

The woman was dragged by the car as she screamed, "My baby!" a man who helped them said.

"I saw this woman hollering, 'My baby, my baby, they’re taking my baby,'" Elroy Jacobs told News4. He chased the SUV and soothed the baby after the driver abandoned the vehicle a few blocks away.

The woman has serious injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, the D.C. fire department said.

The woman drove a white Mercedes SUV to the Exxon station at 3rd and Kennedy streets NW shortly before 10 a.m., D.C. police said.

Surveillance footage shows the woman pumping gas as the windshield wipers keep operating. The driver's side door appears to be open.

All of a sudden, a man can be seen running in a crouch toward the driver's side door. He slips into the car, shuts the door and begins to pull away. The gas pump is still in the car.

The woman can be seen running to the driver's side.

Jacobs, the man who helped her, was driving to his construction job when he heard a woman screaming for help. He got out and chased the SUV.

"I chased after them. Nothing else came to mind. I'm just thinking about the child," he said. "I have to get the child. I'm not thinking about no weapon, if they have any weapon. I'm just thinking about the child."

He said he saw the woman get run over by the car. Information on her condition was not immediately released.

Police say the carjacker stopped a few blocks away and ran, leaving the car at the intersection of 3rd and Decatur streets NW.

Jacobs said he found the baby there, crying but safe.

"I calmed the baby and said, 'Mommy is coming,'" he said.

The child was examined and was OK, according to police.

Jacobs said he saw the carjacker run into a car that was about a half-block away.

The search for the carjacker is underway. It's possible that he only stopped because the SUV ran out of gas.

Jacobs said he had a feeling about Tuesday.

"I wake up six this morning, I'm feeling good and decide it's going to be a good day today," he said.

Contact Us