LONG BEACH : Truck Driver Hailed for Aid in Arresting Kidnap Suspect

Police hailed a Williston, N.D., truck driver as a hero Thursday for helping to catch a Long Beach father who allegedly abducted his 11-month-old son from the boy’s mother.

Benjamin White, 21, is “the hero of the day,” said Long Beach police spokesman Joe Levy.

“If not for the observation that he made, and his persistence and quick thinking, perhaps the reunion (of the boy and his mother) would not have taken place,” Levy said.

Michael Kneavel, 33, was booked Wednesday for spousal abuse, child stealing and child endangering, and held on $1 million bail. White, a driver for Allied Van Lines, was southbound on the Golden State Freeway near Castaic Lake about 8:30 a.m. when he saw Kneavel driving alongside with the boy in his lap, Levy said.

White had seen news reports that Kneavel was wanted for allegedly abducting his son, Michael, about noon Sunday from JoAnne Smarsly’s home after hitting her, Levy said. Smarsly had legal custody of the child, Levy added.

Police broadcast a description of the car Kneavel was believed to be driving and White had memorized it, Levy said. “After seeing the car and recognizing it, he called the California Highway Patrol on his cellular phone and followed it,” Levy said.

“The suspect was in the fast lane, traveling about 80 m.p.h.,” Levy said. “(White) gave the dispatchers the (freeway) call box numbers to update their location.”

CHP officers caught up with the Pontiac at the Balboa Boulevard off-ramp near Sylmar and Kneavel was taken into custody.