A year ago, a man carjacked a mother of twins with her babies in the car outside a North Omaha grocery store.
Alexandra and Sophia Lewis, both 8 months old, were in the back seat when the man drove off, and later ditched the car.
" 'Oh my God — someone is in my car!' And I just started screaming, 'My babies are in there! My babies are in there!' " their mother, Yatonda Lewis, said Thursday while recalling the night she thought she lost them forever.
The girls are growing really fast, and one day, Lewis said, she plans to tell them what happened.
"Every time I look at them, I'm just so grateful that they are here, safe, growing and developing," she said.
It was around 8 p.m. on a Friday when the girls were taken.
"I popped the trunk, was bent over, and all of a sudden my car just started moving," Lewis said.
Two hours later, the babies were found safe.
"They were asleep; they didn't even wake up until we opened the door,” she said.
Lewis was relieved the man who drove off with the girls, later identified by police as Jacob Berney, 34, had abandoned them a few blocks away.
“They were fine," Lewis said. "He rolled the windows down, and kept the lights on. I was thinking he did that so someone could see the car."
Lewis said she hopes Berney gets the help he needs.
“I just hope he gets rehabilitated,” she said. "I know he didn't mean to take the girls, but he has to face some type of consequences for his actions.”
Lewis said she thanks all the people who helped find her twins that night, an event she'll never forget.
“I could never imagine my life without them, and that situation made me realize how blessed I am to have them,” she said.
Jacob Berney is currently serving a three-year sentence and is eligible for parole next year.
