SUNRISE, Fla. — A tow truck driver was arrested on a felony charge on Sunday after police said he hitched a car parked outside of a Sunrise restaurant and drove off with it, with a man’s 4-year-old daughter still inside. Authorities said the girl then promptly fell out of the moving vehicle.
According to an arrest report from the Sunrise Police Department, the girl’s father told investigators that he had parked outside Bistro Creole Restaurant, located within a strip mall at 6130 W. Oakland Park Blvd., and went inside for two minutes when he noticed the tow truck driver hitching his vehicle.
Video shared with Local 10 News shows who police say is Sergio Jesus Suarez, 34, of Hialeah, hitching the sedan, apparently parked in the fire lane, as the man runs up to the vehicle to try to get his attention.
Police said the man yelled multiple times that his daughter was still inside, but said Suarez, who works for All-Ways Towing, drove off.
According to the report, as the man gave chase, the girl managed to open the rear driver’s side door and fell out of the vehicle, sustaining “superficial injuries.”
Police said they contacted All-Ways Towing, which is based at 2550 S. Park Road in Pembroke Park, and asked them to have Suarez come back to the scene.
According to the report, when Suarez returned, “he dropped the vehicle away from officers and attempted to leave the scene again,” leading police to conduct a traffic stop within the plaza.
Police arrested Suarez on a child neglect charge, concluding in the report that his “failure to inspect the vehicle prior to towing, combined with his decision to continue driving despite being alerted that a child was inside, created a foreseeable and substantial risk of serious bodily harm or death.”
“His actions constituted culpable negligence and demonstrated a reckless disregard for the safety of a minor, directly resulting in injury to the child,” SPD Officer Kyle Phillip wrote.
Suarez was no longer listed in Broward jail records as of Tuesday afternoon.
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