A 26-year-old man was charged with stealing a car with an infant inside after the child’s mother left the car running Tuesday afternoon in the South Austin neighborhood, according to police.
Ardell Walker, 26, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated vehicular hijacking and misdemeanor child endangerment. He’s due in court on Friday.
An 8-year-old jumped out of the car after the man jumped in and drove away from the 5800 block of West Roosevelt Road about 1:45 p.m., police said.
Police later found the girl in her car seat in the 900 block of South Menard Avenue. Cicero police arrested the man wanted for stealing the car, police said.
Police saw the car in traffic, gave chase and Walker eventually crashed, police said. He was arrested after a short foot pursuit, police said.
Both children are safe and with their mother, police said.