An au pair recalls the rush of adrenaline and instincts when she was confronted by a suspected car thief, while a distraught young child watched helplessly from the backseat.
Jacinta Davis was stopped at traffic lights at Frenchs Forest on Sydney’s northern beaches on Monday morning when a shirtless man allegedly started attacking her bonnet and windshield.
A ten-year-old girl she was caring for at the time watched in horror from the backseat.
“He jumped on the bonnet of my car and started shouting at him to get out of the car and smashed the windscreen,” Ms Davis told Seven News.
Au pair Jacinta Davis escaped a terrifying carjacking attempt in Sydney’s northern suburbs
“I just put my arms up to protect my face because the glass was going everywhere.”
The man then tried to pry open a car door.
“If I hadn’t locked that, he probably would have yanked me out of the car and just driven off with the child in it,” Ms Davis said.
‘My instincts kicked in, it was like adrenaline. I have a child in the car. I have to do what I can to make sure they are safe.
‘Just protect the child. That was all I cared about.”
The lights then turned green.
“I was just about to drive away and he was still trying to open the car door,” Ms Davis said.
Eventually the man let go of the car.
Damage allegedly caused to the vehicle that au pair Ms Davis carrying a child hit when it was attacked in a suspected carjacking attempt
The girl was traumatized by the horrific incident.
“She was terrified, screaming and crying, all she wanted was her parents,” Ms Davis said.
The man was later arrested by police in dramatic scenes.
NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that officers were called to Wakehurst Parkway at 8am on Monday following reports that a man had allegedly attacked a woman during an attempted carjacking.
“The woman managed to flee before contacting police,” a spokesperson said.
“Upon arrival, the man is said to have jumped onto the police vehicle, damaging the bonnet before being arrested.
“During the arrest, the man allegedly assaulted a police officer, who was taken to hospital with facial injuries.”
The 29-year-old man was taken to North Shore Hospital under police guard.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing. No charges have been filed yet.
No charges have been filed.