Police Investigate Mum Whose Car Was Towed with Toddler Inside

Police have launched an investigation after a video has emerged of a car being towed with a toddler inside.

Victoria Police have initially cleared the mother of any wrongdoing after her car was towed with toddler inside. She told officers that she had only briefly left her car with her three-year-old daughter asleep on the backseat to use the bathroom in the nearby Fahita’s Restaurant after parking in a clearway zone on Sydney Rd, Brunswick in Melbourne.

However, witnesses have now disputed the mother’s claims and told 9NEWS that the mother, who has not been identified, went inside the restaurant to eat a meal.

Security video also revealed that the mother can be seen hanging a sheet and a jumper to cover the back windows of the Toyota Prado before leaving with four children and a teenager just before 4pm last Wednesday. It also showed that the vehicle was parked in a clearway zone for more than 30 minutes before it was towed.

Around nine minutes after leaving the vehicle, the mother and the teenager returned to check on the toddler before walking away again.

Heraldsun.com.au reported that a few minutes later, a tow truck driver can be seen pulling up in front of the vehicle, looks into the front window before taking a photo of the illegally parked car. He then proceeds to put the vehicle onto the back of his truck, before driving away.

After about 20 minutes, the teenager with the three children returns to find the car gone. The mother then reported the car stolen to police, who later saw it on the back of the Nationwide Towing truck on Mt Alexander Rd in Ascot Vale.

The girl only woke when officers opened the car door and lifted the blankets covering her.

9NEWS reported that Nationwide Towing and Transport operations manager Mark Beverage said that the tow truck driver said he did not see the child because the car’s windows were heavily-tinted. One of the company’s policies state that drivers take photographs of offending vehicles to ensure there are no children or animals inside before they are towed. The company also did not enforce any fines against the mother despite her illegal park.

Victoria Police said in a statement: “As a result of information received, Fawkner Police will be conducting an investigation into what, if any, criminal offences have occurred following an incident in Brunswick.”

Source: 9news.com.au and Heraldsun.com.au