Police: Mother killed after two men steal car with her child inside | MyStateline

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVO) — A preschool speech therapist and mother of a 6-year-old child was seriously injured while trying to stop suspects from stealing her SUV, which contained her child, police said.

On July 11 at around 1:30 a.m., Columbus police were called to the 6300 block of Blue Knoll Drive for a report of a pedestrian being struck by a car. Alexa Stakely was putting her child in the 2022 Honda CR-V after picking her up from the babysitter when she realized she had left something at the babysitter’s house, officials said.

When she turned through the front door, Stakely saw her SUV backing up and ran after it, authorities said. Officers said she jumped onto the hood of the Honda but fell and was seriously injured. The suspects drove through the apartment complex and abandoned the Honda a short distance away. police said.

Officers found the vehicle and the sleeping child unharmed.

According to authorities, the two men were observed running past the victim toward a fence, over which they jumped and disappeared into a neighboring apartment complex.

Two men matching the suspects’ descriptions were seen on surveillance video earlier this morning investigating apartments in the Castenea Way area. When confronted, they walked east into the apartment complex and disappeared from sight.

Stakely was an OSU graduate who worked for five years as a speech therapist for the preschool program at Winchester Trail Elementary and also worked as a waitress to support her son.

“Alexa was excited about children and speech therapy,” district said. “She was smart and compassionate, and she cared deeply about helping children develop their communication skills. She was a great mother who was incredibly committed to her son. Ms. Stakely made a difference in the lives of the students and families she worked with and will be missed by so many in our community and beyond.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Lemmon at (614) 645-2558 or [email protected] or call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).