Quick action by boy, 8, saves him and sister from being kidnapped
CINCINNATI: A young US boy saved himself and his sister from what could have been a kidnapping when a man got into the unattended car they were in at a medical centre in Ohio.
The incident took place last Thursday.
The police said that they received a call at 4.18pm that a car with children inside had been stolen at Atrium Medical Centre and an elderly woman was injured.
Ms Nita Coburn, 69, had stopped at the medical centre's emergency room entrance and got out of the car to help her sick daughter into a wheelchair, leaving eight-year-old Chance and his sister Skyler, 10, in the vehicle, reported WCPO Cincinnati, an affiliate of American television network ABC.
She thought she had locked her car, but a safety feature had prevented her from locking the doors with the keys still inside.
The Middletown Division of Police said in a Facebook post that about 10 seconds after Ms Coburn alighted, a 24-year-old man named Dalvir Singh jumped into the driver's seat and drove off with the children in the back seat.
"The little boy opened the door to escape and the little girl started to jump out also, but the man grabbed the hoodie of the little girl, not allowing her to leave," said the police.
As the girl tried to get away from Singh, her brother grabbed hold of her and pulled her away. Both of them then tumbled out of the moving vehicle from the right passenger door.
Unaware that her grandchildren were safe, Ms Coburn gave chase on the driver's side, which is on the left in the United States, and opened the driver's door to regain control of the vehicle.
DRAGGED
But Singh slammed the door shut and locked it, said the police.
Ms Coburn hung on to the car in a panic, as she thought the children were still inside, and was dragged for a while until the speed of the car forced her to let go.
Singh, who is from India and is a heroin addict, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of kidnapping, felonious assault for dragging Ms Coburn, and grand theft, added the police. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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