'Kids Probably Would Have Died': Woman Alerts Chester Police After Finding Stolen SUV With Boy, Baby Brother Inside
CHESTER, PA. (CBS) -- Two children are safe and sound Monday after a harrowing ordeal in Chester. They were in an SUV that was stolen from a Chinese food restaurant.
Two teens are now facing kidnapping charges.
The look you could see on a 6-year-old child's face revealed the terrifying moments he endured after police say two 17-year-olds stole his mom's car. He and a 9-month-old sibling were in the back seat of the SUV.
Police say the mother left the car unattended for a short time while she got takeout.
"At this point, it seemed like a crime of opportunity -- they found a running car, jumped in it and tried to take it, perhaps thought better of it when they realized what they had," Chester Police Chief James Nolan said.
What they had was two innocent children and quickly an army of police tracking their movements.
About 20 minutes into the search, Lonette Jackson got home from work and noticed a car was blocking her in.
"I wrote a note asking them not to park there anymore and set the note on the car. We pulled off and went around the corner to the store," Jackson said.
Jackson and her sister went to the corner store and saw a lot of police activity.
It was then they realized the car that blocked them in was similar to the one investigators were feverishly searching for.
"She was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's the car.' So I jumped out the car and ran around the corner to the cops," Jackson said.
Jackson was relieved but frustrated she didn't initially investigate the car further.
"I'm a mom. I'm a little upset with myself because I felt like I put the note on the car and walked away, never even thought to look in the car," she said. "Had I not gone back outside, those kids probably would have died out there last night. It was freezing."
Police tracked down the 17-year-old thieves. For a time, people in this neighborhood had feared the worst.
"They got the two teens, right? So, there, they'll learn — they'll learn their fate, it's about to come on them," Chester resident Bill Tiller said.
The two suspects are facing kidnapping conspiracy charges in the juvenile court system.
The mother of the children is not facing any charges.
