Van repossessed while girl, 7, sleeping inside
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - A van in Philadelphia got towed away with some precious cargo still inside. A 7-year-old girl was asleep in the backseat. Now investigators are trying to figure out what happened.
It was just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning when police say a 26-year-old worker at a Dominos in West Philadelphia pulled her minivan up in the front of the restaurant and went inside-- leaving her 7-year-old daughter asleep under a blanket in the backseat.
"She's there for work. Her car's outside apparently her car's double parked while she's inside," Philadelphia Police Captain Sekou Kinebrew said.
It turns out the mother's car had just had been repossessed and was being towed away by Giannone Towing. The tow truck driver had no idea there was a child in the backseat.
"He does a visual inspection and doesn't see anything or any signs of any human inside the vehicle," Captain Kinebrew said.
The mom called police to report an abduction. A few minutes later, officers pulled over the tow truck and the van over at 50th and Woodland. The child was asleep and unharmed inside.
The mother and daughter were reunited while police investigated.
"Right now, no one's charged with anything related to this incident, but investigators are still working on it," Captain Kinebrew said.
Police say the mom is being detained on an unrelated, outstanding warrant from NJ.
The driver was wearing a body cam and police checked the car multiple times before the child was discovered under the blanket. The child was placed with a family member pending the outcome of this investigation. Police are checking surveillance video to corroborate the mom and tow truck driver's stories.