The Dallas Police Department warned residents not to leave their cars running unattended after a harrowing incident at an Oak Cliff school last week.
It happened during morning drop-off at Winnetka Elementary on April 23. A parent left their car running to walk their student across the street to school, when a man jumped in the car and drove off with another child inside.
The car was later located, and the child was unharmed, according to a letter Dallas ISD sent to parents (see below).
DPD’s public service announcement says they’ve seen a “slight uptick in vehicles being left running and unattended” while the driver pops into a store, for example.
“Not only is it against the law to leave your unattended vehicle running, it’s extremely dangerous and it puts you at risk of not only being the victim of vehicle theft but also having the items inside your vehicle stolen,” the PSA states.
It is a pain to unload and reload children into a car, but it has to be done, DPD says. If the worst were to happen in that situation, parents could be charged criminally.
“Vehicles are stolen with children alone inside quite frequently,” the department states. “This happens even in the safest neighborhoods and it only takes a few seconds for a thief to jump into your vehicle and take off with your child in tow.”
