Woman who lost premature baby has car stolen from hospital parking lot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Memphis police are searching for the person who stole a pregnant woman’s car while doctors tried to save her baby’s life.

Tamra Sandridge said her daughter Tia Shipp drove herself to Baptist East Hospital early Sunday morning because she knew something was wrong. Shipp gave birth to a 22-week-old boy in the emergency room bathroom.

“The baby came and she went straight to the bathroom,” Sandridge said.

She said her daughter pressed a call button in the restroom and medical staff rushed to help. But she said in all the chaos, her daughter’s purse was left behind and someone stole her car keys, wallet and Nissan Altima.

The baby died a few hours later, she said.

“It’s just a really screwed up situation where she loses a baby, a car and every dollar that she had,” Sandridge said. “There were nine nurses and no one thought to grab their purse.”

In a statement, the hospital said: “We are aware of an incident where a patient’s belongings were taken from a public toilet after the patient had been transported for emergency treatment. Luckily no one else was involved or injured. The patient was treated safely and patient care continued without interruption. We have notified the Memphis Police Department of the incident and they are actively investigating.”

Sandridge said Baptist turned over the surveillance video to police and she hopes MPD will find the person responsible. In the meantime, she has started GoFundMe to help her daughter buy a car and organize the funeral.

She said Tia was released from hospital on Monday and is trying to look after three other children, all under the age of five.

“She has a four-year-old who just started preschool and he goes to school fifteen minutes from her house. She worries about getting her son to and from school,” Sandridge said.

The stolen car is a 2008 Nissan Altima. If you saw the vehicle or have information that may assist police, call CrimeStoppers at (901)-528-CASH.