Child in backseat when car was stolen is reunited with mother; suspect arrested

A woman was arrested Wednesday evening for allegedly stealing a mother’s SUV while her child was in the backseat.

Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers received a call about a car theft and kidnapping near 110th Street and Wilmington Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

The mother told police that she had pulled over because of a flat tire. As the driver left the vehicle to look at the tire, a woman entered the car and drove off, according to police.

The mother was able to track her cellphone, which was still inside the vehicle, and find the car’s location. Officers went to the city of Bell, where the woman had apparently abandoned the vehicle with the child inside.

Witnesses pointed out the woman’s location to officers, and she was taken into custody without incident, according to police. The suspect was identified as Maria Carver, 22, of Los Angeles.

The child and mother, whose names were withheld by authorities, were reunited at the LAPD’s Southeast Community Police Station, where police stated that “the child was in good spirits and unharmed.”