NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A car thief hopped in a running SUV in Queens on Tuesday evening—before he realized a 5-year-old girl was inside the vehicle and dropped her off on the street, police said.
The girl’s mother left her in a running Toyota RAV4 as she stopped at a store at 170th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica.
But as the mom was inside the business around 7:15 p.m., a man entered the idling SUV and drove off with the girl inside.
When the thief realized there was a child in the car, he apparently let her out about 10 blocks away from where the vehicle was stolen, police said.
A good Samaritan found the girl at the Jamaica YMCA on Parsons Boulevard and walked her to the 103rd Precinct stationhouse.
She was not physically hurt during the ordeal.
The thief eventually abandoned the stole vehicle on the Whitestone Expressway.
No arrests had been reported as of Wednesday.