A mother died while trying to stop a thief from stealing her car with her young son inside.
Police were called to the intersection of Annual Drive and Blue Knoll Drive at 1:27 a.m. on Thursday.
Alexa Stakely, 29, had just picked up her 6-year-old son from a babysitter. She placed her sleeping child in the running car and went back to the house to grab something she had forgotten. When she returned, she saw her car being stolen and began screaming for her child.
Stakely jumped on the hood of the car to try and stop it but was thrown off when the thief drove erratically. She suffered a serious head injury and was rushed to Mount Carmel East in critical condition, where she later died.
Police found the car in the same parking lot with the child still asleep inside, but the suspect had fled.
Stakely was known for her dedication to her son, working two jobs to provide for him. She was a speech pathologist at Canal Winchester Schools and was loved by many. Her school’s Facebook page is filled with tributes from people she helped.
She had been at Winchester Trail Elementary for five years and was known for her intelligence, compassion, and dedication to helping children succeed. Her commitment to her son was evident when she risked her life to save him.
Police reported seeing two males running past Stakely after she was struck, heading towards an abandoned car, then jumping a fence and disappearing into an apartment complex. Surveillance footage from earlier that morning showed a group of males looking into apartments nearby, and two of them matched the description of the suspects.
Detectives are asking anyone with video of the incident or of people loitering in the area to come forward.
Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert said, “We always tell people, ‘Don’t leave your car running … don’t leave kids in your vehicle unattended.’ This one, I’m not gonna armchair quarterback a mother trying to protect her son. It’s just a tragic incident all around.”
