Woman Allegedly Steals Car with 5 Children Inside After Driver Stops to Help After Crash

A Virginia woman has been arrested and charged after she allegedly carjacked a vehicle with five children inside after the driver pulled over to help her after she crashed.

Per a press release from the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office, officers responded to a report of a multi-vehicle collision in Grandy at the intersection of Augusta Drive and Highway 158 on Sunday at 12:40 p.m.

According to authorities, a man who witnessed the crash got out of his vehicle, which had five children inside, to check on the individuals involved.

Allegedly, Markell Hancox (pictured above) — one of the drivers involved in the collision — jumped into the driver’s seat of the man’s Suburban and traveled north on Caratoke Highway while the kids were still in the vehicle.

After allegedly pulling into the Hop Inn, Hancox jumped out of the car and ran. She was soon apprehended by Currituck deputies and the male driver.

Although the children were “extremely shaken,” officials confirm that they were not physically harmed in the event.

Hancox was charged with five counts of second-degree kidnapping, leaving the scene of an accident, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

She has been placed under a $210,000 bond and is being held at the Currituck County Detention Center.