A carjacker dumped a three-year-old girl by the side of a busy road after stealing the vehicle when her mother got out after a crash.

Willio Petioma, 35, was caught on Sunday after an anonymous tip to the Broward Sheriff's Office and caught on camera removing the child from the car.

He stole the white SUV when the girl's mother got out to exchange details with another driver after a minor car accident in Fort Lauderdale.

Petioma sped off with the toddler still strapped in to the back seat about 8.30am last Wednesday on West Commercial Boulevard in Oakland Park.

The mother desperately held on to the passenger door and yelled at the carjacker as the car drove away and dragged her along with it, but lost her grip and fell down. 

Dashcam footage showed him pull over under a bridge moments later, then unstrap the girl and carry her to the footpath next to the busy road.

He dropped her off there and drove away, later ditching the car on a side street and stealing property from the vehicle.

Surveillance footage showed Petioma ditching the car, then taking off his white shirt and throwing it over a wall into a nearby business.

Then, still shirtless wearing only black shorts, he walked into a Family Dollar store and was allegedly caught on camera using the mother's credit card.

A manhunt was launched for the carjacker with the footage from the shop used to identify him. 

Petioma was charged with kidnapping, carjacking, interfering with custody of a minor and illegal use of a credit card.

Police also discovered he had an outstanding warrant for cocaine possession and resisting an officer in Palm Beach County.