A man who stole a car in San Bernardino, Calif., late Sunday night with
two small children in the back seat was followed and ultimately arrested
because of the vigilance of three good Samaritans, police said.
San Bernardino police Lt. Rich Lawhead said, at around 11:30pm late
Sunday night, a mother who had her 2 young children strapped in their
car seats in the back of the vehicle, ran into a convenience store to
buy them some drinks. The woman left her car running, the air
conditioner on and parked directly in front of the market window so she
could see the car from inside the store.
Unknown to her, a local transient, 21 year old Steven Young, was
watching her from outside. As soon as the mother took her eyes off the
car for a minute, Young jumped into the vehicle and began to reverse the
car. The mother who was leaving the store just as the gray sedan was
backing up, jumped on the bonnet of the car to try and stop the driver
from fleeing with her children in it.
Young allegedly swerved left and right until the mother was shaken off,
then he sped off with the car with the children in it, police said.
But two people in another car in the parking who saw the entire scene,
gave chase to the car and followed Young, who crashed about two miles
away when the car ran up onto a curb, Lawhead said.
Two tires were popped and Young ran off.
The children were uninjured and the two people who followed stayed at the scene until the Police arrived.
A third Samaritan who was walking in the area saw Young running away
from the scene and pointed out where he was hiding to the responding
police officers.
Young was found by a police dog hiding in a garage, was arrested and
jailed on suspicion of kidnapping and carjacking officials said.
The mother, who couldnโt afford a tow truck, was able to make it home
with her kids after an officer helped her change her tires, police said.
Source: Los Angeles Times
