HOBBS, N.M. – A mother jumped on the hood of her vehicle after it was stolen with two children inside on July 4 in New Mexico. The Hobbs Police Department said the woman parked her white Hyundai Santa Fe in front of a store. As she returned a female suspect pushed her and got into the vehicle, driving off.
Video from a traffic camera shows the mother attempting to halt the crime by riding on the hood of the SUV, but was unsuccessful at stopping the other woman. Inside the Santa Fe were the woman’s 6-year-old daughter and 11-month-old son, Fox News reported.
Officers located the vehicle and discovered the suspect abandoned the 6-year-old at an intersection and fled from police. The suspect then abandoned the small SUV and began to run from officers, authorities said. She was found hiding in a residential area and taken into custody.
The suspect was identified as Regina Castillo, police said.
Regina Castillo (Hobbs Police Department)
According to law enforcement authorities, Castillo faces charges that include the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, two counts of child abuse, resisting/evading or obstructing an officer.
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At the time of her booking on new charges, Castillo also had three active arrest warrants, including failure to appear on the charges of concealing identity, shoplifting and failure to appear for traffic violations, according to police.
Castillo has previously been charged with battery against a household member, two charges of resisting/evading or obstructing an officer, two charges of shoplifting, forgery, four charges of failure to appear, and one charge of concealing identity, Fox reported.
The children were reunited with their mother after being treated by EMS. It was unclear when the mother disembarked the hood of her stolen vehicle. She sustained several abrasions during the encounter, according to police video.
