Grandfather begs carjacker not to drive off with baby

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) - A Missouri family is still shaken up after getting their car stolen as they were dropping off three young children at a daycare center.

The carjacking happened in the parking lot of a St. Louis daycare center, Guardian Angel Settlement Association, just after 7 a.m. last Monday morning, KMOV reports.

Tyrone Hayes, 60, had his three grandchildren in the car. He let out his two older grandchildren first then went to the back seat to pick up his 9-month-old granddaughter, Amanda, who was sleeping.

Hayes says that’s when the suspect hopped into the driver’s seat and tried to take off as Hayes held onto the baby and begged the man to stop.

“When he got in the car, I was like, ‘My man, please, I got a baby back here. Please stop, so I can get the baby out, and you can take the car,’” Hayes said. “I wasn’t thinking about a gun. I wasn’t thinking about nothing. My thing was to save this baby.”

The suspect allowed Hayes to get Amanda safely out before pulling away.

“I am just elated that it didn’t get as worse as it could have gotten,” Hayes said.

During the incident, the children’s mother, Keisha Jackson-Hayes, was parked nearby with a car full of balloons and a birthday cake for her son.

“They don’t care. They can care less about what happens to that child. All they know is they are out there for a ride,” she said. “To the people that did it or people like that, I want them to know that there’s more to life than just stealing.”

The family’s Volkswagen was found 20 minutes away and has been impounded to a towing lot in Florissant.

Police said they were looking for a white Chevy Impala they believe is associated with the carjacking. The daycare has turned over surveillance video to police and is looking into getting additional cameras.

“I do want people to know to be careful of your surroundings,” Jackson-Hayes said. “It could be at your most vulnerable time, at a daycare.”

Anyone with information is asked to call St. Louis Metropolitan Police at 314-444-0001.

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