$200,000 car stolen in Buckhead, in the middle of the day, in front of the driver

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A car worth $200,000 was stolen while the owner was standing right next to it. The owner said he's just the latest in a series of crimes that are plaguing the city. 

Chris Hancock was driving his brother's top of the line Mercedes. He stopped at a dry cleaners on Roswell Road in Buckhead around 2 p.m. Wednesday. He said he was taking his laundry out of the trunk when his car was stolen. 

"I heard a car start, sounded just like my car, and realized it was! The guy put it in drive and pulled off, almost over my foot, and took off down Roswell Road," said Hancock. 

Hancock said he took off running after it, but the car was gone. 

Hancock said he knows he's not the only victim of car thieves, just the most recent. Just a couple of days earlier, police said a woman was pumping gas across the street from the cleaners when someone jumped in her Range Rover and took off.  

Hancock grew up in the area. His family owns a number of businesses here. He said he has watched crime spiral out of control. 

"Being a business owner in Buckhead for the last six years, crime is progressively gotten worse and worse and worse. They're getting more brazen. I don't know what needs to be done or how they can fix it. Everyone is getting tired of it," said Hancock. 

Hancock said his brother who owns the car, wasn't angry about the car getting stolen. He said it was insured. But what really makes Hancock's heart sink is he usually has his 2-year-old daughter with him. He's thankful she stayed home Wednesday. 

"Thank God she wasn't with me. It would have been a whole another story. I don't know what I would have done!" said Hancock.