A woman has jumped on to the bonnet of a car during a carjacking in Melbourne’s north attempting to stop a man from driving away with a baby in the back of the car.
The girl’s mother and a friend were standing next to the car outside a school on Ross Street, Coburg around 3pm.
“A male and a female approached the car of the victim, the male got in the car and drove off straightaway,” said Senior Constable Virginia Creece of the Victorian Police.
“The friend of the victim actually got on the bonnet of the car and attempted to stop the male from leaving.
“I think she was on the car for about 400 metres before she fell off the car.
“She stated that during this time she was screaming at the male who was driving away and trying to get him to stop but he refused to stop and kept going.”
The man reportedly dumped the car about 45 minutes later with the girl still in the back, telling a passerby she was in there.
“When the male left, he told this witness that he had a baby in the car and he didn’t know what to do with it,” added Senior Constable Creece.
The baby was unharmed and police are still searching for the man.
A neighbour, who lives across from the school, told News.com.au she initially thought it was a “joke” or a domestic incident.
“I was standing right in front of my house because I was getting ready to pick my kids up from school,” the woman said. “As first I thought it was a joke, or a custody battle over a baby, or something. Then I saw the man just casually get in the car.
“Her friend jumped on the bonnet, and even tradies working at the bottle shop at the corner tried to stop him with his car,” she added. “I never thought I would ever see something like that happen. Never, ever. It’s so scary.”
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire.