Columbus police have released additional footage of a carjacking that killed an Ohio teacher who was frantically trying to save her six-year-old son as her car sped away.
Twenty-nine-year-old Alexa Stakely was killed on July 11 when she was hit by her own vehicle following the carjacking, the Daily Mail reported Friday.
According to NBC 4 Columbus, Stakely worked as a speech and language pathologist for Canal Winchester Schools:
The Mail said two suspects were videoed chasing the vehicle while a third suspect was behind the wheel. The car was later abandoned in a nearby parking lot.
Police are asking neighbors of The Residences at James Place and Akita Lane to share any video footage that might show the carjacking and the suspects involved.
An aerial photo shows the area where the incident took place:
Moments before her death, Stakely had picked up her son from a babysitter on Blue Knoll Drive at approximately 1:30 a.m. after finishing a shift as a waitress.
According to law enforcement, the incident happened not long after the young mother placed her sleeping child in the car and then went back to the babysitter’s apartment to retrieve something.
The carjacker got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which was apparently idling, and took off. Stakely ran after the vehicle and threw herself onto the car in an effort to stop the driver and rescue her son. However, she suffered a fatal head injury.
The little boy was not hurt during the apparent carjacking.
Video footage shows the moment police officers found the child and tried to gather information from him about the suspects involved:
A speech pathologist at Capital Therapy Services, Michelle Wardell, shared her grief over the loss, according to ABC 6.
“All of us are moms and say we will die for our children, but luckily we’re not in that situation. Alexa did. She fought and died for her child,” Wardell stated.
Friends and loved ones attended a vigil on Wednesday to honor Stakely:
“I think the majority of us just can’t even believe it’s real, and it’s just gonna take some time. She was my best friend, and I’m going to miss her a lot. It’s just, it’s very hard to lose someone like that,” said her brother, Braedyn Price.
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