Woman Steals Pregnant Mom’s Vehicle During Car Wash

A Florida woman is behind bars after she allegedly stole a pregnant mother’s car during a routine car wash, then crashed it into a gas tanker just minutes later—causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and leaving the mom devastated.

The suspect, 33-year-old Chanel Aisha Anderson, has been charged with grand theft auto, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest without violence, according to Osceola County jail records.

It all unfolded on the morning of July 7 at Big Dan’s Car Wash in Kissimmee. The victim, Hellen Mendez, who is 32 weeks pregnant and a single mother of two, was cleaning her floor mats just a few feet from her white Hyundai Sonata—left running—when a woman suddenly jumped in and took off.

“When they put the vehicle in reverse and I heard the tires screeching, I knew something was seriously wrong,” Mendez told WESH.

The car was spotted moments later by a police officer as it collided with a gas tanker and then slammed into a light pole. According to the officer’s affidavit, the suspect appeared slumped over in the driver’s seat before becoming agitated and yelling that she wanted to fight.

When the suspect allegedly got aggressive, the officer used a Taser twice to subdue her before backup arrived and she was arrested.

Witnesses said the car sped through the wash area so quickly it nearly hit several people and caused over $20,000 in damage to the facility.

Mendez said the loss has been crushing—financially and emotionally. “I had diapers in my car at the time. I tried to salvage what I could, but there were shards of glass in them,” she said. She’s now relying on a GoFundMe to stay afloat.

“I’m in my third trimester, and the emotional and physical impact of this has been overwhelming,” she wrote in the fundraiser.

Anderson remains in Osceola County Jail on $5,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the victim. The case is still under investigation.