A Florida man has been accused of stealing a vehicle at a gas station and immediately returning it once he discovered that there was a child inside.
KNOE reports that 53-year-old William Mullis was arrested after he stole a car at a gas station in Brevard County. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Mullis driving away with the vehicle that had a one-year-old child in it while its owner was inside a convenience store.
Seconds after leaving with it, though, Mullis is seen throwing the car into reverse and backing into the parking lot as the mother of the child — who drove the car — rushes to the driver’s side door.
Mullis was seen fleeing the area on foot, but he was later arrested and currently sits behind bars with no bond. He’s set to see a judge in November.
Florida law prevents a parent or anyone responsible for a child who’s younger than six years old from leaving them in the car without supervision for more than 15 minutes.
Speaking to KNOE about the situation, Todd Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office suggested that the situation should be a reminder that anything can happen quickly when kids are involved.
“I’m sure this is a parent’s worst nightmare … in this case, she’s very lucky that this guy saw that there was a child in the car, got a case of remorse, and decided to drive back and give her car back with her child in it,” he said.