A seven-month-old baby was found abandoned beside a rural highway after police allege a man carjacked the child’s mother when she stopped to offer him help near Swan Hill in Australia.
The 36-year-old woman had pulled over on the Murray Valley Highway, near the Victoria-New South Wales border, at about 11.10am on Wednesday, according to police.
Officers allege she got out of her Holden Commodore after a 51-year-old man flagged her down, but that a struggle then broke out. The man is accused of driving away in the car with the baby still inside.
The child was discovered by a passer-by on the roadside a short distance away. The mother, who suffered minor injuries, was reunited with the baby before both were taken to hospital.
Police later found the abandoned Holden in bushland around 12km from the scene.
A 51-year-old Swan Hill man was arrested several hours after the incident and charged with a number of offences, including carjacking, child stealing and unlawful assault.
He has also been charged with allegedly committing an indictable offence while on bail and contravening a bail condition.
The man has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Mildura Magistrates’ Court on December 2.
