Fundraiser Exceeds Goal After Car Was Repossesed With Mother’s Newborn Inside

According to the GoFundMe page, donation for the fundraiser will provide the mom with a new vehicle and possessions locked in the car.

Tanisha Carothers, a daycare owner and lawyer, has taken remarkable strides launching a fundraiser to aid Sabriya Miles, a mother whose car was repossessed with her 7-day-old baby still inside.

Carothers established a GoFundMe campaign that has surpassed its $6,000 goal, garnering over 200 donations to support Miles and her family. As detailed on the fundraiser page, a car salesman had allegedly attempted a “bootleg” repossession of Miles’ vehicle, “jumping in the car and speeding off with her newborn in the back seat.” After he realized the child was in the car, he called the police.

The mother, who 14News reported had no prior warning of the repossession, had momentarily left her baby in the running car while dropping off her toddler at a daycare in Evansville, Indiana. “I couldn’t talk,” Miles said. “I was just too frustrated, and I was crying. I carried my baby for nine months, and now I lost her.” With assistance from another mother, Miles managed to follow her car down the street. However, the distressing incident left her without transportation, and her children’s car seats and cell phone were all trapped within the repossessed vehicle.

Carothers expressed outrage at the act, stating, “To think about the humanity of repossessing the car at a day care, I would have been livid had a dealer done that in my parking lot to a family.” She believed that by launching a fundraiser and rallying community support, it would be possible to change the family’s life.

The GoFundMe campaign was launched to provide Miles with a new vehicle and baby necessities and replace the items lost during the repossession. Carothers updated donors on the fundraiser page that with the current funds, the car search is moving forward. She focused the fundraiser on the family’s need for a new vehicle to transport children and find employment. Additional funds will go toward the replacement of a car seat and other items in the vehicle.

While Miles faced criticism on social media for leaving her baby inside the running vehicle, 14News reported that police and the mother confirmed the baby is fine, and no reports of aggressive driving or negligence was filed against the mother. Authorities don’t anticipate any charges will be filed against her or the car salesman.