Daring Melbourne woman clings to bonnet as thief takes car and baby
A desperate Melbourne woman was recorded throwing herself on the bonnet of a stolen car, trying to stop the thief behind the wheel escaping with a baby strapped inside it.
The infant Amira was found a short time after the theft, still fastened inside the luxury 4WD after it was dumped in a laneway in Haig Street, Coburg.
Police released dramatic vision of the car driving down the road with a daring friend of the mother on the bonnet in an effort to stop the thief.
Amira's mother can be seen running down the road chasing the car.
She was waiting to pick up her three eldest children from primary school in Coburg, when her car was stolen.
The mother was standing beside the car, with the engine running, as Amira slept in her baby capsule.
A man emerged and forced his way into the driver's seat and took off.
Amira's mother lunged at the car and was struck by the vehicle as it sped away.
Other parents also tried to stop the driver.
Victoria Police Senior Constable Virginia Creece said the mother was "screaming at the male as he was driving away and trying to get him to stop.
"But he driver refused to stop and kept going," Snr Con Creece added.
She added a witness said the thief was seen fleeing the car, telling them he "had a baby in the car and didn't know what to do with it".
Mother and daughter were reunited and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital for assessment.
