A mom from New Mexico clung to the hood of her Hyundai Santa Fe car to stop a carjacker who took her car with her 11-month-old son and six-year-old daughter with autism inside.
In a surveillance video, Melody Maldonado, a 33-year-old librarian from Hobbs, New Mexico, was seen clinging to the front of the car as the vehicle sped along East Navajo Drive at around 8:30 p.m. on Independence Day. As per Daily Mail, Maldonado said she did not feel any fear as she clung to the speeding car and yelled for the carjacker, Regina Castillo, 29, to stop.
The fiercely protective mom said that she yelled that her kids were in the car. But the carjacker kept on driving. She continued going reasonably far through an intersection and past Allsups. Maldonado also noted that the car thief kept swerving the car so she would fall off.
She was eventually thrown from the hood. Despite breaking her foot from the fall, she sprinted to the convenience store nearby to call for help.
The protective mom said she did not care what happened to the car; she just wanted her kids back safely.
Mom stopped by to buy a baby bottle
The drama began when Maldonado stopped at the Stripes Convenience store to buy a baby bottle for her 11-month-old baby. She left the kids in the car for a moment.
When she could not find what she was looking for, she headed back to the car. The mom noticed that Castillo met her at the exit and walked her to her car. When Maldonado unlocked the driver's side door, Castillo pushed her aside with the keys and jumped into the Hyundai.
When the mom realized what was happening, she quickly jumped up on the hood of the car as Castillo threw it into reverse, speeding backward and nearly hitting the gas pumps at the gas station.
She said she was banging on the window the whole time, telling her to stop.
After Maldonado fell off the hood, Castillo continued to drive around the dusty streets of the New Mexico town bordering Texas, eventually dropping Ma'Rey, 6, on a random road. The Sun reports that people nearby found the child, kept her safe, and called the police.
When the cops tracked Castillo down, she dumped the SUV at an intersection and left the 11-month-old baby inside. The car thief then tried to flee on foot.
The Hobbs Police Department pursued and found her hiding behind a pick-up truck in a residential area.
Charges against the carjacker
Police said that it was unclear why Castillo stole the car. As per New York Post, Castillo was charged with two counts of child abuse, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, resisting/evading or obstructing an officer, aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, and three counts of failure to appear.
She had previously been charged with resisting/evading or obstructing an officer, two charges of shoplifting, battery against a household member, forgery, four charges of failure to appear, and one charge of concealing identity.
