A Los Angeles mother, Tersa Tax, observed in shock as a man allegedly took off with her vehicle. Inside the car were her three children, and a pursuit ensued, ending with a crash, leaving the kids hospitalized.
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According to a release issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the incident occurred on Friday, August 29. At around 6:40 p.m., deputies responded to an East Olympic Boulevard convenience store following an assault with a deadly weapon report.
Upon arrival, deputies learned that Tax, whose name was reported by CBS Los Angeles, had parked her vehicle outside the store. The car was left with the engine running, and inside were her three children, aged 8, 6, and 2. Meanwhile, the children’s father parked adjacent to the Tax’s car.
Suddently, a suspect, unnamed, allegedly jumped into Tax’s vehicle and drove away. The father attempted to intervene, as per the release, but he was dragged by the stolen vehicle and fell to the ground. He sustained injuries to his upper body.
“You blink and you see a stranger in the car with your kids,” Tax told CBS. “Your kids are crying and desperate for their mom. So they take off their seatbelt; they’re reckless, they’re scared, they’re afraid and you just see someone run away with them.”
Pursuit And Crash
Police managed to locate the stolen vehicle and attempted to stop the suspect. He, however, refused to do so and fled, as per the police. A pursuit ensued, which later ended following a multi-vehicle collision.
Following the crash, police alleged that the suspect fled on foot into a residential area. California Highway Patrol officers, however, managed to apprehend him. He sustained injuries that were possibly caused by the collision or by his fleeing up a steep embankment during his attempted escape, the release added.
The three children who were allegedly kidnapped by the suspect, meanwhile, sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the multi-vehicle crash. According to a GoFundMe, two of them remain hospitalized.
The suspect remains hospitalized as of Saturday, August 30. His identity will be released, as per the police, once his booking is complete.