Mom and children safe after battling carjacker, suspect still on the loose

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A mother is relieved her children are safe after a carjacker took off with her kids in the back seat. He still remains on the loose.

Atheysha Diaz was taking her 6-year-old daughter, Briana Diaz, to school along with her 2-year-old son when a man approached their car at the 1400 block of Northwest 31st Street.

Diaz said she was in her driveway and had just buckled the kids up to get ready to leave. A man approached her and started to climb inside the driver's side door.

"As I see him getting in the car, he's trying to close the door and I go ahead, and I'm tug-of-warring with him," Diaz explained.

As Diaz started to fight with the man he took off, as Diaz hung on to the driver's side door. She was dragged down the driveway and lost her grip as the suspect sped down 31st Street. The two children remained in the back seat until little Briana took action.

"I was trying to stop the car, and he didn't let me," explained Briana. "That's why I hit him on the head with my book."

After hitting the suspect with her book repeatedly, the suspect finally had enough and let Briana and her brother out of the car.

Diaz was elated to see her children unharmed as they walked towards their mother. "They were walking in the middle of the street where he dropped them off, and I was crying," said Diaz. "The first thing I went to do was hug them and give them and kiss. I would do anything for them. That's why I went after him. They're my life." Miami Fire Rescue responded and treated the mother for scrapes and bruises.

The suspect is still on the loose and is described as a white latin male in his mid 20s. He was well-kempt, weighing about 145 pounds and stands 5 foot 5 inches in height.

Authorities recovered the stolen car, a black Acura TL, in the area of Northwest 39th Avene and 71st Street. The suspect, however, is still on the run.

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

(Copyright 2007 by Sunbeam TV Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)