A tow truck hauled away an SUV with two small children inside in Virginia — an action the company blamed on the sun’s glare and because “the seats were black leather, so was the car seat, and the children were African America.”
A 26-year-old woman called police shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday to report her SUV and her two children, ages 3 and 1, stolen from the Fashion Center at Pentagon City in Arlington, the Washington Post reported.
Police quickly realized the car had been towed from a no-parking zone and that “initial investigations indicated the tow operator was unaware the children were inside and after notification stopped to check on them.”
John O’Neill, owner of Advanced Towing, said the tow truck driver never saw the two children.
The car was pulled over without the truck driver realizing there were two small children in the back seat. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Images shared online by ArlNow.com, which first reported the incident, show a clear view into the SUV through the front. The website does not share side-view images, and children are not visible in photos taken from outside.
“The kids were both asleep, and they were both covered,” O’Neill added.
“We actually told the police department that we were towing the vehicle, and the police department called us back to tell us there was a child in the car. The driver stopped, checked the children; they are fine.”
The incident happened Tuesday outside the Fashion Center at Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia. Google Maps
The woman left her white Hyundai Kona (the same one pictured here) with the engine running and the door open for about 16 minutes “in the fire lane outside the mall,” O’Neill told WaPo. Shutterstock
O’Neill said his tow truck operators often find children left in misplaced cars on hot days.
The woman, identified by WTOP News as Chaukina Thomas, left her white Hyundai Kona with the engine running and the doors unlocked for about 16 minutes “in a fire lane outside the mall,” O’Neill told WaPo.
After police took Thomas to the towing company’s lot to pick up his children, he was cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and released.
An Arlington police spokesman said the children were in good condition after they were found in the back of the car.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
