A Jacksonville father learned the lesson of his life after having his brand-new SUV stolen while his 2-year-old son was still strapped in the vehicle’s back seat.
“I was like, ‘Jesus, no this can’t be happening,’” said the victim, Marc Dickerson.
He said he had just returned home from a car dealership with his new SUV and decided to take is son, Jehmari, to the park and put the boy in the back seat.
Dickerson said that was when he realized he’d forgotten his cell phone inside his apartment and motioned for his wife to keep an eye out from the window while he ran inside — just 25 feet away — with the keys still in the SUV’s ignition.
“I blew on my horn to tell my wife to watch the car out the window while I’m running back up to get my phone … she looked out, I ran up five seconds and ran back down, and I see this kid on his bicycle drop his bike behind my car and run toward the driver’s seat of my car,” Dickerson said.
Not believing what he was about to see, Dicker said he started yelling that his baby was still inside the SUV.
“I grabbed the windshield wiper to try to stop the car, and then went around the front door and as he was closing it. I pulled it open. I grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him out, grabbed the steering wheel and by that time he’s rolling and dragging me by that time,” Dickerson said.
His wife, who he said was holding their younger child, was hysterical as she watched the incident unfold from an upstairs window. She called 911.
“I just started praying, ‘Father please, take the car. Do whatever you have to do, just please let my son be OK,’” Dickerson said.
A quarter of an hour after the description of the stolen SUV was put out on police radio, an officer spotted the vehicle at the Taco Bell on Phillips Highway, where police said they found a 15-year-old suspect was trying to hide inside.
Police said not being old enough to have a driver’s license didn’t stop the teen from stealing the vehicle and taking the victim’s toddler for a wild ride.
The 15-year-old is charged with resisting an officer without violence, confinement of a child under the age of 13 and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
The baby was returned safely to his parents.
“I could’ve sworn it was hours … just to know my son was out there in the car with this maniac riding around not knowing what,” Dickerson said.
He said he wants every parent to hear his story so they won’t let the same thing happen to them.
“In seconds your whole life could be changed, and I know what not to do. I hope parents will see this and know it’s not worth it — unbuckle it take them in with you. It’s just not worth it,” Dickerson said.
source:news4jax
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