Accident Ends Suspected Kidnaping
A 5-year-old girl was kidnaped from a Pacoima gas station Monday but was recovered following a traffic accident, Los Angeles police reported.
Amelia Willis of Pacoima, accompanied by her young cousin, pulled into the station at Van Nuys and Glenoaks boulevards to buy gas.
“She went inside to pay,” Police Sgt. Sol Polen said. “When she came out, the car and the kid were gone.” About an hour later, Willis’ auto was involved in a traffic accident with two other cars at Burbank Boulevard and Front Street in Burbank, Polen said.
Witnesses told police that the man driving the car had attempted to leave the scene on foot with the little girl but was kept there by a bystander until Burbank police arrived.
Police learned that the car was stolen and arrested the driver, Ernest Coleman, 35, on suspicion of kidnaping, holding him in lieu of $45,000 bail.
The girl was treated at St. Joseph Medical Center for minor injuries and released.
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