Mother hospitalized after attempting to stop carjacking with 6-year-old in back seat

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A woman is in critical condition after she attempted to thwart a carjacking while her six-year-old child was in the back seat early Thursday morning in the southeast corner of the city.

At around 1:30 a.m., officers were called to the White Oak Park Condominiums in the White Ash neighborhood, just north of Canal Winchester. Police found a woman who had been injured near the intersection of Blue Knoll Drive and Annual Drive.

According to police the woman arrived at the apartment complex to pick up her 6-year-old son, who was being watched by a resident. The woman brought out her child, who was asleep, and placed him in the back seat, then returned to the apartment to retrieve his belongings.

Police said a suspect jumped into the car, which was left running, and started to drive off. The mother, seeing the car pull away, reportedly jumped onto the hood of the car in an attempt to stop the suspect.

The suspect began to drive erratically throughout the complex before the mother was thrown off the hood of the car. At that point, police said the suspect got out of the car and fled the scene.

The mother was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, while the child was back under the supervision of the babysitter. He was unharmed and remained asleep during the entire incident.

Police are still searching for the carjacking suspect.