VIDEO: DeKalb mother of 3 gets car stolen during daycare drop-off, police say

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Surveillance video captured a daycare drop-off gone terribly wrong on Tuesday morning in DeKalb County. A woman tells FOX 5 she was taking her kids to pre-school when she came back to find a stranger in the driver's seat.

Now, police are searching for the vehicle and the person who jumped behind the wheel.

"When I came out of the door, it was like my car was in reverse and just straight up out the daycare parking lot," Latoya Burns recalled.

Latoya Burns said it only took two minutes from the time she walked her two- and four-year-old daughters into their daycare to the moment she saw a man in a hoodie speed off in her car.

"We started hearing a loud horn, and it was one of the bus drivers notifying us that someone had walked down from up top of the hill to get inside one of our cars," she said. "I did leave my car running and unlocked."

Car stolen at DeKalb County daycare

Burns said it was a split-second decision that cost her everything, including a new job she’d just started a week prior.

"It was a car to get from here to there," she told FOX 5.

She and her family were also in the middle of moving after receiving an eviction notice, so she says most of what they owned was inside at the time.

"My documents, my documents for my kids, their birth certificates, my social security card, my ID, my purse, everything. It was clothes and shoes, I had a PS5 in there for my son," she stated.

DeKalb County mother needs help after car stolen

While Burns said she’s doing what she can to get around and get her kids to school, she’s hoping someone will see her car and call the police.

"It had minor damage to the front headlight, and it also had a green bungee cord holding the bumper to the headlight," she explained.

The mother of three tells FOX 5 she’s also hopeful they’ll find the car with all of their belongings intact.

Authorities say you should never leave your car running. If you do see a car matching the description, give DeKalb police a call. In the meantime, Burns has started an online fundraiser.