GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 22-year-old mother lost a trove of important personal documents after she was carjacked early Thursday morning.
The woman, who asked FOX 17 not to identify her, was driving in the area of Hall St. SW and Cesar E. Chavez Ave SW with her brother, when a van pulled in front of their vehicle.
"They say, 'you already know what the f—k's going on, give me your car,'" she explained Thursday.
"Me and my brother got out, and then we couldn't do anything really, but call the police."
Officers drove her home, where all she could do was wait and wonder if she would ever see her vehicle again.
"I prayed all last night, like, please don't let them damage my car," she explained.
"I just need everything that was in that car."
She had a backpack in the vehicle, where she says she was keeping documents for her two children— social security cards, birth certificates, her vehicle title, and other personal documentation.
Around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, she received a call from police telling her they had located her vehicle on the city's west side, on 4th St. NW.
While she now knew where her vehicle was, the suspects apparently made off with her backpack and keys.
And now, it's like, I have to start all over," she said Thursday.
She also says she will need to get a new ignition, and replace her locks.
"For somebody to take something that somebody worked hard for, it is like pathetic," she said.
A home on 4th St. captured surveillance video of a man carrying a backpack and walking away from the area where her vehicle was found overnight. She says he matches the description of one of the suspects who carjacked her.
It is her 23rd birthday on Friday, and she spent the bulk of Thursday watching over her vehicle, waiting for family members to arrive, and to make sure nobody shows up to take the vehicle again.
If you have any information about the possible suspects involved, you are asked to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department at (616) 456-3400.
