Pregnant mom’s car towed with her 5-year-old daughter still inside, Texas cops say

A tow truck driver towed away a vehicle from a Texas apartment complex with a 5-year-old girl still inside, authorities say.

The girl’s mother, who is nine months pregnant, said the tow truck driver “swooped in” and hauled away her car that had its hazard lights on, the San Antonio Police Department said. She was briefly at the apartment to contact a neighbor, police said of the Sept. 9 incident.

She hitched a ride from a witness and they began following the tow truck driver, police said. But because of a medical emergency she had, they pulled over in the parking lot of an H-E-B.

Police said the towing company was eventually contacted, and the driver returned the unharmed child back to the apartment complex.

The towing company, Trinity Towing, said in a statement to multiple outlets that the vehicle showed no signs of it being occupied.

“We later learned a little girl was asleep on the floorboard when we first towed the vehicle and was not visible to the driver,” the company told WOAI.

Police said the driver dropped off the child and fled without talking to officers. The driver will be charged with endangering a child, according to a police report.

Trinity Towing, according to its statement, was thankful the incident did not cause the child any harm.

“While our driver followed all necessary protocols, the situation could have been much more serious,” their statement said, according to KTSA. “We are relieved that the little girl is safe and unharmed this evening.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Pregnant mom’s car towed with her 5-year-old daughter still inside, Texas cops say."