Authorities in North Carolina said a woman allegedly stole a vehicle with five children on board after the driver stopped to help her following an accident in which her vehicle was involved.
According to PEOPLE, the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office said the October 3 incident occurred after the suspect, identified as Markell Hancox, got involved in a “multi-vehicle collision” in Grandy, North Carolina. The driver whose vehicle she later stole witnessed the collision and pulled over to offer assistance.
“A citizen stopped to assist, as he witnessed the event. He approached the scene and exited his vehicle to check on the people involved,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. But after the driver stepped out of his vehicle, Hancox “jumped into the driver seat of his Suburban and stole it with his 5 children still inside,” the statement added.
RELATED STORIES
The suspect subsequently sped off headed north on the Caratoke Highway, and later stopped at a Hop Inn “where she jumped and ran.” Hancox was, however, shortly arrested by Currituck deputies.
“The children were extremely shaken, but not harmed,” the statement said. Hancox faces a slew of charges including five counts of second-degree kidnapping, leaving the scene of an accident and larceny of a motor vehicle.
She is currently being held at the Currituck County Detention Center on a $210,000 bond.
