A Melbourne mother has shared the terrifying moment her two four-year-old sons were driven away in her car during an alleged carjacking, describing it as a 40-minute nightmare she’ll never forget.
Stephanie had just placed her twin boys into the backseat of her Ford Territory outside their home on Berkshire Street in Doreen around 6.30am Monday.
She went back to the front door of her home to check on her eldest child when two males jumped into the vehicle and drove off.
“(It was) horrifying,” Stephanie told 7NEWS. “I can’t describe to you how scared I was.”
Security footage captured the alleged thieves arriving in a Toyota Yaris before speeding off in the Ford with the children still inside.
The toddlers were driven around two kilometres away and left at two different spots by the side of Cookes Road.
It was 40 agonising minutes before Stephanie and her husband were reunited with their children.
“Just relief. I don’t think you can describe what you feel (when you get them back),” she said.
Fortunately, the boys were physically unharmed, but Stephanie said the boys knew something was wrong.
“They’re four. They think of it as a story. They think it’s just another story to tell. I don’t think they have the understanding of what could have happened,” she said.
The Yaris and the Ford Territory later collided, with the Yaris ending up in a ditch, according to Victoria Police.
A 23-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl in the Yaris were arrested and released pending summons. The stolen Ford and two male suspects remain missing.
The incident is one of several alleged carjackings across Melbourne in recent days.
In another case, two men in a stolen Mercedes Benz allegedly tried to break into a car parked on Nicholas Street in Ashburton while a man, woman and child were inside.
“Two male offenders allegedly exited the vehicle and attempted to open the car doors, but they were unsuccessful,” Victoria Police said.
“The 38-year-old Ashburton man reversed his vehicle, hitting the Mercedes before it fled from the scene.”
A third incident saw a Nissan X-Trail allegedly stolen in Lynbrook on Monday. Police tracked the vehicle overnight using aerial surveillance as it sped along the South Gippsland Highway and Monash Freeway.
Despite multiple tyre deflation attempts, the Nissan continued driving until it reached a dead-end on Davidson Street in South Yarra. Officers arrested three teenage boys and a girl at the scene.
The charges included attempted carjacking, armed robbery, burglary, reckless conduct, and theft of a motor vehicle. The youngest involved was just 13 years old.
Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Images: 7NEWS
