- A Florida tow driver unknowingly towed a sedan with a child inside.
- The 4-year-old girl fell from the moving car and suffered injuries.
- The driver’s attorney claims the vehicle was inspected three times.
A tow truck driver in Florida is facing criminal charges after unknowingly towing away a car with a four-year-old girl still inside, triggering a chaotic scene that unfolded in broad daylight and raising serious questions about safety protocols in vehicle recovery operations.
Surveillance footage captured the alarming moment the father ran after the moving truck, shouting desperately as it carried off his car with his daughter still inside.
Read: Tow Company Took Cars Then Demanded $15K To Hand Them Back
The incident took place on Sunday outside the Bistro Creole Restaurant in Sunrise, Florida. The child’s father had allegedly parked illegally for about two minutes to step inside, leaving his young child unattended in the back seat.
Moments later, a tow truck driven by Sergio Suarez appeared, and in just a matter of seconds, had hooked onto the sedan and started towing it away. Within seconds, the vehicle was being pulled away. The father gave chase, yelling that his daughter was still inside, but the truck kept going.
Before long, the tow truck had entered a main road, and the girl fell out, leaving her with minor arm and knee injuries.
Police were called to the scene and called Suarez from All-Ways Towing & Storage, instructing him to return. After heading back to the scene and dropping off the car, he reportedly tried to flee the scene but was arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.
After spending a night in jail, Suarez appeared in bond court. According to his defense attorney, “he checked the vehicle three times before he towed it. There was no child inside,” he insisted.
The attorney also stated that Suarez was accompanied by a colleague, described as a “spotter,” who also looked inside the vehicle before it was hooked up. According to this account, neither saw the child, and it remained unclear how she was missed.
Presiding over the hearing, Judge Corey Friedman didn’t appear convinced. “It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said, “if a 4-year-old had to jump out of the vehicle and had injuries, that anybody checked the vehicle, because they would have been able to see a 4-year-old.”
