Man on the run after threatening to kill pregnant woman in gas station carjacking: Family breaks silence over terrifying encounter
- Family threatened at gas station
- Paar broke the silence on trial
A family has opened up on the horrific moment a man threatened to kill a pregnant mother and her unborn baby in an attempted carjacking.
Mahesh Sriramaiah and his partner Shruthi Shehagiri and their five-year-old son were in the car at an Ampol petrol station in Huntingdale, Melbourne, on March 17.
A man then started kicking their vehicle and threatened to kill Ms. Shehagiri and her unborn child before the family fled the scene.
Mr. Sriramaiah relived the horrific experience two weeks later and said he and his entire family froze in fear.
Mahesh Sriramaiah and his partner Shruthi Shehagiri and their five-year-old son were in the car at an Ampol petrol station in Huntingdale, Melbourne, on March 17.
“We had a brain freeze moment and we didn’t know why we didn’t leave the place,” he told Channel Nine’s Today on Friday.
“My son is screaming from the backseat. I don’t know, it was one of the worst moments that ever happened.’
Mr. Sriramaiah and his family were on their way home from dinner when they pulled into the gas station to fill up the car.
The father and his son paid for their fuel at the counter and had just returned to the vehicle when the man on a motorcycle stopped.
“He yelled, yelled, pointed something at the till,” Mr. Sriramaiah said.
“Initially he tried to enter the gas station, because it was closed, he kicked it as hard as he could and then threatened the gas station counter clerk.
“When he wasn’t successful there, he randomly looked at us.”
Mr. Sriramaiah said he was fastening his five-year-old son’s seatbelt when the man began to approach him.
The father jumped in the car and locked the doors before the man came over and kicked the car, causing the vehicle to vibrate.
“As he got closer to the car and two inches away from my wife, he saw her belly and realized she was pregnant,” Sriramaiah said.
“Then he started telling you all the time, ‘I’ll kill you, I’ll kill the baby.'”
Ms Shehagiri said the man slammed his hand against the window before she cried out in horror and the family fled.
She said she was traumatized by the incident.
CCTV footage from the gas station showed the moment the unnamed man kicked the passenger door after a running jump.
The man is on the run and police are appealing for public assistance in the attack and urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
He is described as having an athletic build and was wearing a leather jacket and jeans at the time.
A man then started kicking their vehicle and threatened to kill Ms. Shehagiri and her unborn child before the family fled the scene