CCTV footage shows a man abandoning a baby on the side of the road as he drives off in a stolen car. Video / Supplied
The father of the woman whose baby was dumped on the roadside after her car was stolen has detailed how the incident unfolded, saying his terrified daughter chased after the offender in another vehicle before discovering her abandoned child, and fainted when reunited with the little boy.
The incident happened last Friday about 12.10pm outside a dairy on the corner of Queen and Cameron Sts in Waitara, Taranaki.
Video footage captured the moment the car thief plucked the baby boy from the back seat and dumped him on the side of the road.
The 23-year-old mum had stopped to buy a drink at the corner shop, leaving the car briefly unattended.
The woman’s father, Shane Young, called the Herald this evening, clearly distraught about his daughter’s horrific ordeal.
He detailed how his daughter reacted when she saw her car and baby had been taken after stopping outside the shop.
She immediately jumped in a member of the public’s car and chased after the offender. Young said she found her baby dumped on the roadside.
“She jumped in [the member of the public’s] car and he chased the guy down the road and tried to cut him off. Then, the guy [offender] drove up on the footpath and got around them,” Young said.
When she and the driver saw the baby on a grass berm, “she got it back and she fainted“, he said.
Video footage shared online shows a car speeding around a corner before a man gets out - as the car continues rolling - takes something from the back seat and places it on the grass berm before driving off.
Young told the Herald he was furious with the offender for putting his daughter and grandson through such trauma.
He had choice words for the offender, which the Herald has decided not to print.
He said his daughter’s car was now “smashed up”.
The man stopped the car near the corner of Queen and Cameron Streets in Waitara, Taranaki.
The man drove away after leaving the baby on the kerbside.
In a statement yesterday, police confirmed a baby was located on the grass verge and was “luckily uninjured”.
A 27-year-old woman who they had already arrested was today charged in relation to the incident.
“She has been charged with unlawfully getting into a vehicle and is due to appear in New Plymouth District Court tomorrow.”
The spokeswoman said police are following active lines of enquiry to locate another alleged offender in relation to the incident.
The car was stolen from outside a store just after the owner got out, police said earlier.
The vehicle was found abandoned on the corner of Henui and Mclean Sts yesterday morning. A spokesman said the car had been “driven ... all over Taranaki in the weekend”.
Police were looking for the offender and asked for information from the public.
“If you saw the silver 2014 Peugeot 508 station wagon, or have any information that may assist in our investigation and locating the man involved please contact police on 105,” a spokesman said.
Anyone offering information could quote file number 240510/8076. Information could also be offered anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
