Parents Fight Carjacker To Save Their Child

[MJS]

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If they hadn’t known it already, a young couple learned just how powerful a parent’s love for a child can be in a dark and desolate gas-station parking lot on a cold night three days before Thanksgiving.
And if he didn’t know it before, the man who tried to steal Melanie and Aaron Richman’s 1997 Pontiac Grand Am learned the same lesson in the same Kansas City lot.

The Richmans’ 6-month-old daughter, Samantha, was in the backseat of that car and there was no way they were going to let a carjacker drive off with her, they told TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Friday.
Driving their Pontiac from Colorado to a new home in Missouri, the Richmans were leading a convoy of relatives driving rented vans when they stopped at a Phillips 66 gas station for one last break in their long journey. Leaving their car running to keep their daughter warm, the Richmans stepped away from the car briefly to talk to their relatives.

I'm glad that all turned out well for the family. Obviously they were very intent on not letting this guy take their car with their child inside. Of course, the imortant lesson here is to never leave your running car, especially one that has a child in it, unattended.

What do you think of their actions?

 

[seasoned]

Plain and simple, they did what they had to do.............

But leaving their car running and unattended, with their child in it was, STUPID.

 

[oaktree]

I think the parents are idiots to leave the car running with the baby in it.

With that being said you do what you have to do to save your kids life even if it is the cost of your own. That is a parents job.

 

[Sukerkin]

First off, well done to the parents for doing what parents should i.e. protect their offspring.

Secondly, as others have said, it may have been a little silly to leave the car unlocked and running but they were right there after all.

I quite often leave my car running in the mornings to defrost it before heading to work - I don't expect some toe-rag to try and steal it off my own land! Slightly different situation perhaps but the mind-set is the same viz that caution is fine but you can't live your life in a constant state of paranoid alertness. Most of the time in most places, people are 'good'. There are not all that many 'evil' ones.

 

[MA-Caver]

You know there's going to be a movie of the week about this...

But yes leaving the car running... a child can still stay warm even if the engine is off and what not. Presumably they had the child bundled up anyway... but only one of the parents should've gotten out anyway to talk with relatives OR move the van closer to the others then one gets out and chats for whatever.
Walkie talkies or other communicative devices would've worked well too.

Fighting a car jacker... dangerous because sometimes those guys are armed... what if the parents were not. Of course fighting back to preserve the child would be the best thing to do.

Scared parents and the lesson hopefully burned into their brains to never try anything like that again.

Lucky all around. Except for the carjacker. Kicked in the face... heh.

“I have my guard up 125 percent of the time now. There is no rest for me basically,” he said. “I have to make sure my family is safe at all times.”

Eventually the guard will go down ... watch for it fella.

 

[MJS]

Sadly, this isn't the first time a parent has left a child in a running car, and someone drove off.

To play devils advocate for a moment, were the child not in the car, but it was still running, would their actions still be valid? Personally, if I was that close and had the opportunity to get back into the car, I'd fight for my vehicle. Yes, I know thats usually not the favorite thing to do, but I dont think that I could just stand by while some POS steals it.

 

[MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE]

I think the carjacker is lucky to be alive.

 

[Flea]

I drove through a hard heat wave on my cross-country road trip this past summer, and there were several times when I had no choice but to leave my dog in the car. My solution was to leave the engine idling with the A/C on full blast. I always had my main set of keys with me at all times, with a spare in the ignition, locked up tight. I tried to park in the shade too, but having my vehicle in view through a window or something was always preferable.

I still worried though. Not that my truck is any kind of a prizewinner, but since I was moving I had that very conspicuous U-Haul trailer. Of course the dog was (and remains) my greatest treasure. In spite of all one's preparations, I think things can still go wrong sometimes simply because life is unpredictable. The couple learned a hard lesson and they're to be commended for their courage and responsibility.

 

[elwin]

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I'm glad that all turned out well for the family. Obviously they were very intent on not letting this guy take their car with their child inside. Of course, the imortant lesson here is to never leave your running car, especially one that has a child in it, unattended.

What do you think of their actions?

Classic example of what can be achieved when fighting your attacker to save a life. If more people were willing and able to fight, there would be less victims in this world.

 

[MJS]

Classic example of what can be achieved when fighting your attacker to save a life. If more people were willing and able to fight, there would be less victims in this world.

Agreed!! I think that many times, some people are too worried about what happens after the fact, instead of whats going on, at the moment.

 

[MA-Caver]

Agreed!! I think that many times, some people are too worried about what happens after the fact, instead of whats going on, at the moment.

Well leave it to lawyers and judges to plant that seed of paranoia that somehow the carjacker/kidnapper/attacker/robber/mugger whatever! is going to have a successful lawsuit against you if you fight back and hurt them.

 

[LuckyKBoxer]

First off, well done to the parents for doing what parents should i.e. protect their offspring.

Secondly, as others have said, it may have been a little silly to leave the car unlocked and running but they were right there after all.

I quite often leave my car running in the mornings to defrost it before heading to work - I don't expect some toe-rag to try and steal it off my own land! Slightly different situation perhaps but the mind-set is the same viz that caution is fine but you can't live your life in a constant state of paranoid alertness. Most of the time in most places, people are 'good'. There are not all that many 'evil' ones.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

man just when I thought I found a thread on something where everyone seemed to agree you let me down Sukerkin lol....
I read the story and even the dad and mom admit they made a bad decision.
It was a dumb call, it was not ok... it turned out ok, but not smart.
the fact is turning on your car in the morning to warm it up and go back in your house to get ready is not smart either, you are leaving your property at the whim of other peoples good will... and even if the vast majority of people are "good" it only takes one to ruin your day. lets give a little devils advocate here... what do you think would happen if you did that and a neighborhood kid walking to school saw it and jumped in and gave it a joy ride and ran over 3 or 4 other kids going to school as well? OR just crashed head on into another car and kills himself and the other driver? that is a not so far off scenario that could easily have been prevented by taking the extra 5 minutes or so to sit in the car to warm it up couldnt it?
It has nothing to do with paranoid alertness, it has to do with eliminating possible problems that are easily avoided... like leaving a loaded gun around in the open with kids in the house.... or not locking up all your household cleaning products that are under your sink and deadly to kids when your kids start exploring things... the list can go on and on... paranoid alertness would be walking around with a gun locked and loaded looking for threats to attack you.... responsible parenting is properly supervising and looking out for your kids and removing possible threats before they become a tragedy.

the article doesnt say how far away fromt he car they were... but it was far enough for someone to get close enough to the car to open the door and get in and stick the car in reverse and start to leave before they were spotted.... im not sure how far that is.. but its far enough for me to say why the hell didnt either the mom or the dad stay there?
anyways thank god that it turned out ok, and the parents sound smart enough to realize they made a dumb call and wont do it again.

btw what is a toe-rag?? I have not heard that before

 

[shesulsa]

Man, I grew up in L.A. You don't friggin' leave your car running anywhere, even at a podunk gas station in Bumfudge, Egypt.

I have done what Flea says she did - leave a spare key in the ignition with the engine running (mainly to warm the car up in the morning) but with the doors locked.

I *never* .... NEVER ... left my kids in the running or unlocked car for a moment. They went INTO the store with me or one adult stayed in the car with the kids; turning your back at moment like that? Hell, it's practically an invitation for people who hang out at gas stations JUST FOR MOOKS LIKE THAT to make THAT VERY MISTAKE.

Sorry. They're idiots for making the mistake, but heroes for fighting the guy. Could have turned out MUCH worse.

 

[Sukerkin]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

man just when I thought I found a thread on something where everyone seemed to agree you let me down Sukerkin lol....

:grins: Different country. Different mindset. I live in a smallish town, in a quiet road where I know and talk to my neighbours. My paranoia level is low. Tho' I do keep a longsword in the bedroom for emergencies and take comfort from the fact that my next-door neighbour is a policeman.

Also, to clarify the post that aroused your reply, I have a car with heated windows - doesn't need very long to clear off the frost. The window {yeah, glazing based pun attack! } of opportunity for the unscrupulous is pretty tight.

btw what is a toe-rag?? I have not heard that before

It's a term roughly equivalent, I think, to the American epithet "low-life".

 

[tmpierce]

You know what jumped out at me was their after action comments. I'd say that they were psychologically unprepared for defending themselves. Not that that is unusual for the first time you really face the **** but it's like okay, move on now people.

 

[jks9199]

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I'm glad that all turned out well for the family. Obviously they were very intent on not letting this guy take their car with their child inside. Of course, the imortant lesson here is to never leave your running car, especially one that has a child in it, unattended.

What do you think of their actions?

Great job on the parents reaction...

But I much prefer preventing the need. Don't leave the car unlocked, unattended, and running. ESPECIALLY with a child inside.

When I see people leave their car running as they make a "quick" stop... I often point out how much I hate taking stolen vehicle reports -- especially ones that start with "the car was left running and unlocked."

 

[jks9199]

Sadly, this isn't the first time a parent has left a child in a running car, and someone drove off.

To play devils advocate for a moment, were the child not in the car, but it was still running, would their actions still be valid? Personally, if I was that close and had the opportunity to get back into the car, I'd fight for my vehicle. Yes, I know thats usually not the favorite thing to do, but I dont think that I could just stand by while some POS steals it.

Happens, unfortunately, with some regularity. We get a rash of them in the region here every late fall... and again as spring turns to summer. At a guess, around 1 in 5 or 1 in 10 involve a child left in a car.

 

[Bruno@MT]

People who leave their car running unattended are asking for it to be stolen.
I am not usually one for blaming the victim, but that is like a hot woman walking around butt naked through a bad part of town, and then complaining she got raped.

Leavig the car running, unlocked, with your kids inside is just plain stupid.
Of course I understand them fighting for their kids. That part of it is natural. But they only had to fight because they were almost fatally stupid.

All's well that ends well. Hopefully they'll have learned a valuable lesson.