Two parents in Auburn, California, had a terrifying morning on Thursday after two women stole their car outside a day care center ― while their 7-month-old son, Asher, was still strapped in his car seat.
Elijah and Korral Atkinson were inside the center dropping off their 2-year-old child around 7:30 a.m. That’s when two women allegedly got inside the couple’s car and drove off with Asher still in the vehicle, according to Sacramento Fox affiliate KTXL-TV.
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Elijah called it “a parent’s living nightmare to watch a car with your child in it drive away from you,” according to KTXL. “We barely got silhouettes of people in the car — couldn’t really tell anything.”
“It was scary for sure,” Korral later told reporters, as seen in a video from ABC affiliate KXTV. “It’s a fear that probably will never leave my mind.”
Korral said she called 911 “immediately,” and Placer County deputies chased the suspects in the stolen vehicle down Highway 193 until the driver crashed on the side of the road, knocking down a utility pole, according to KTXL.
The driver and passenger got out of the car and ran. One of them was quickly apprehended. The other temporarily evaded capture by running into a wooden area, but was also eventually detained, according to CBS Sacramento affiliate KOVR.
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Police arrested Roniqua Wartson, 29, and Anastacia Andino, 23, on suspicion of child endangerment, KTXL reports. They may also face drug-related charges.
Asher is reportedly doing fine after being checked out at a local hospital. One of the suspects was also taken to the hospital for unknown injuries.
Meanwhile, the Atkinsons are happy to have their family back together.
“Something way worse could have happened today, and it didn’t,” Korral Atkinson told KTXL. “So we’re very thankful for that.”
Source: huffpost
