Feb. 12--WEST HAVEN -- Police are investigating a morning incident during which a man allegedly stole a woman's car from a convenience store and drove off with a three-year-old child inside.
The child was left in a car seat inside the running vehicle in the parking lot of Krausers at 911 Campbell Avenue while the mother was inside the store at about 7:30 a.m., Sgt. David Tammaro said.
The woman saw her vehicle reversing, being driven by a white male wearing a blue coat, Tammaro said. She grabbed onto the vehicle and was dragged until she fell to the side, and the vehicle drove off with the child still inside, Tammaro said.
A 'passive security device' inside the car rendered it inoperable in the intersection of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Lamberton Street, New Haven Police Officer David Hartman said. The suspect took off on foot, and New Haven officers recovered the unharmed child from inside the car, Hartman said. New Haven Police contacted the Yale Child Study Center, whose services were made available to the victim and child, Hartman said.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call West Haven Police at 203-937-3900.
Copyright 2012 - New Haven Register, Conn.
