A tow-truck driver in Sunrise, Florida, is facing serious felony charges after allegedly towing a car with a 4-year-old child still inside.
According to WSBTV, the incident happened when the child’s father parked his car in front of a restaurant and went inside for roughly two minutes. During that short window, the tow truck driver, identified as Sergio Suarez, reportedly hooked up the car and began towing it away — unaware that a little girl was sitting in the back seat.
Surveillance Footage Shows Father Chasing Tow Truck
Surveillance video captured the shocking moment the father ran into the street after seeing his car being hauled away. The car had reportedly been parked in a fire zone, which is why the tow truck company targeted it.
Panicked, the father can be seen chasing the truck and shouting that his daughter was still inside. During the chaos, the 4-year-old girl opened the car door and fell out of the moving vehicle. Police said the father ran into traffic to pull her to safe
Thankfully, the child did not suffer serious injuries.
Driver Arrested and Charged With Child Neglec
Police later tracked down Sergio Suarez, the tow-truck driver involved in the incident, and arrested him on a felony charge of child neglect without great bodily harm.
Authorities said that after learning a child had been inside the car, police contacted the towing company and demanded that Suarez return the vehicle to the scene. “He dropped the vehicle away from officers and attempted to leave the scene again,” police explained in their report.
In response to the allegations, Suarez’s attorney claims his client was not acting recklessly and that a coworker checked the car three times before towing it.