A Florida tow truck driver was charged with a third-degree felony for towing a man’s car while his daughter was inside.
On December 14, driver Sergio Suarez hauled away a car parked in a fire lane outside a restaurant in Sunrise, seemingly unaware that there was a little girl still inside.
The girl’s distressed father was caught on surveillance footage waiting inside of Bistro Creole Restaurant.
He told police that he left his daughter alone in the car for just two minutes, when he saw the truck pull up to take it away, per WSVN.
The father quickly ran outside and began to pound on the truck’s window, trying to inform Suarez that his four year old daughter was in the back seat.
Suarez reportedly ignored the father’s desperate pleas because he though he ‘might become aggressive,’ per the arrest report obtained 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.
