SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) – Security footage provided exclusively to 7News reveals the moment a tow truck in Sunrise sped away with a car that had its owner’s 4-year-old daughter still inside, as the desperate father ran behind it.
The driver of the tow truck, Sergio Suarez, was seen quickly lifting the car that was parked and towing it away, Sunday, apparently without checking whether there was anyone inside.
Sunrise Police detectives said the car was parked in front of the Bistro Creole Restaurant on West Oakland Park Boulevard.
Suarez posted bond on Monday after being charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.
A court document states the driver and father of the young girl parked the car for and went inside the restautant for about two minutes. When he noticed his car was about to be towed, he ran outside to alert Suarez that his daughter was inside.
The surveillance video showed the very moment the white tow truck sped away with the vehicle.
Within seconds, the young girl’s father tried to stop the driver, as he frantically chased the truck out of the camera’s frame.
“This is one that stuck out to me this morning. He towed a vehicle, allegedly, without checking whether or not there was anybody in the vehicle,” Broward Circuit Court Judge Corey Friedman said.
The court document states the child in the vehicle then jumped out of the vehicle in the middle of the road.
The father told police he saw his daughter fall out of the vehicle and that he “immediately ran into traffic, picked up his daughter from the middle of West Oakland Park Boulevard, moved her to safety,” the court document states.
Suarez, 34, works for Always Towing in Pembroke Park.
In court Monday, his attorney defended his actions.
“He advised me he checked the vehicle three times before he towed it. There was no child inside. He also had a partner, whom he called the spotter. He had the spotter also look at the vehicle, and that’s why he said he doesn’t know how this came about,” the attorney said.
Monday night, Suarez was tight-lipped as he bonded out of jail. Friedman ordered him to avoid contact with the victim and refrain from driving until further notice.
As for the little girl, police said she suffered minor injuries to both arms and her right calf.
7News contacted the tow company multiple times to learn more about their side of the story, but they did not wish to comment.
Sunrise Police told 7News that they can’t provide information on whether the father will be facing any charges for leaving his daughter unattended, as it remains an active investigation.
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