(WHDH) — An 11-year-old recalled the scary moments when a thief stole an SUV while he sat in the front seat in New York on Sunday.
David Perez said he left his son, Daniel, in a running SUV while he ran into a market when another man jumped into the driver’s seat and took off.
“I’m still kind of traumatized from that,” Daniel said.
He took out his phone during the scary ordeal and texted his father, “Dad help.”
Daniel says the car thief was speeding and sideswiping other cars as he drove.
Perez started tracking his son’s phone and soon he was in a police cruiser helping officers catch up to his son.
The suspect eventually dropped Daniel off on the side of the road.
“Luckily I got a video call from my son,” Perez said. “I picked up and my son was outside the car.”
Daniel was taken to an area hospital for treatment of minor neck pain.
Perez called the car theft a nightmare and is pleading with other parents to learn from his mistakes.
“Don’t ever leave your kid unattended in the car, not even for one minute,” he said.
Daniel offered his own advice, saying, “Get (your) kids a phone if they don’t have one and always take the key out of the car.”
Police are continuing to look for the car thief.
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