2023-09-07 01:38:03
A mother has been charged after police say she left her two young children in a vehicle outside a shopping center in Arlington, Virginia, and the car was towed away with the children still inside.
Around 11 am Tuesday, Chaukina Thomas, 26, of Suitland, Maryland, left the Pentagon City Fashion Center and thought someone had stolen her car with her 1-year-old and 3-year-old children inside. Thomas called 911.
“Outside the driveway of Macy’s…hysterical. I’m getting a report that her car has been towed and her baby is in the car,” the 911 dispatcher said, according to audio obtained by our sister network, News4.
Arlington officers quickly discovered that the vehicle was not stolen, but had been towed because Thomas had parked illegally, according to police.
“The children were in child seats and from our preliminary investigation we have not identified information that the tow truck operator was aware that the children were inside the vehicle at the time of the tow,” said Ashley Savage, spokeswoman for the Police Department. of Arlington County.
The Advanced Towing company said by phone that the children were in the back seat and were not visible. He added that the car was parked in a fire lane for a period of time.
Thomas met his children in the Advanced Towing parking lot. Police said Thomas left the air conditioner on inside the car when he entered the mall and that the children were in good health.
Thomas was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Advanced Towing has faced questions about its practices in the past. News4’s investigative team and reporter Julie Carey previously reported on several complaints the company had received, including the case of a father whose truck was towed with two children inside in 2015.
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