Police in central Queensland are investigating after a woman had her car stolen from a Yeppoon shopping centre while a four-month-old baby was in the back seat.
Detective Acting Inspector Luke Peachey said the mum was parked in a click-and-collect bay and was placing groceries in the boot when another woman jumped into the driver's seat and drove away.
He said the alleged thief did not realise the child was in the car and returned to the scene to demand the child be removed.
"Fortunately, it appears that some sense prevailed and the offender has returned … but a 16-year-old boy's come to help and removed that child and has inadvertently been run over by this person," Acting Inspector Peachey said.
"Another female has also been struck as that vehicle was stolen again."
The baby was not physically injured, but the teenager and a 39-year-old woman were taken to Yeppoon hospital with leg injuries.
Acting Inspector Peachey said the car was located later in the afternoon and that a 24-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man were assisting police with their inquiries.
No charges have been laid.
Spate of thefts
The incident comes after another woman, 42, was threatened with a knife and had her car stolen while on her way to a Yeppoon gym at about 4:30am on Tuesday.
Acting Inspector Peachey said the woman was not injured.
"Absolutely disgusting behaviour by these people — she was very, very shaken up," he said.
"It could have been a lot more serious.
"The fact that someone's used a knife to threaten someone who's just going to the gym early in the morning, it's just abhorrent behaviour."
Acting Inspector Peachey said the woman's car was driven on the wrong side of the Yeppoon-Rockhampton Road for about 10km before it crashed on a Richardson Road property in North Rockhampton.
The car was not being pursued at the time of the crash.
Acting Inspector Peachey said the occupants of that vehicle left the scene in another stolen car, which was believed to be linked to a robbery of a Yeppoon sports store that same morning.
A large quantity of clothing was stolen.
Acting Inspector Peachey said police were looking for "anywhere between six and 10 people" in relation to the two Tuesday morning incidents.
A day earlier, between three and four o'clock in the morning, police also allege two stolen cars were used in two separate ram raids involving a bottle shop and a chemist.
Acting Inspector Peachey said there were at least four stolen vehicles still outstanding in the area.
"It's a very convoluted investigation, but what we do know is that a number of these vehicles are getting stolen, out indication is that a number of these people are young people," he said.
"We know people out there know who they are, and we know people out there know where these vehicles are."
Anyone with information on any of the incidents is encouraged to contact authorities.
