Police: NJ man steals SUV with two kids inside
A Gloucester County man was charged with kidnapping for stealing an SUV - in which two children were left alone as backseat passengers - from the parking lot of a Camden County liquor store about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.
A Gloucester County man was charged with kidnapping for stealing an SUV - in which two children were left alone as backseat passengers - from the parking lot of a Camden County liquor store about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.
Christopher Dumas, 38, of Paulsboro, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child and theft. Magnolia police say he crashed the stolen Trailblazer into another vehicle during his getaway, causing it to flip over. The children, an 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl from Lawnside, suffered minor scrapes and were treated and released from Cooper University Hospital in Camden, police said. No other information about their identity was provided because they are juveniles, police said.
Police said Dumas was also treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital on Sunday. Authorities said they did not know whether anyone else was injured in the accident.
Police were still investigating the 32-year-old woman who left the children alone in the SUV to go into Columbo's Liquor Store on the White Horse Pike in Magnolia. It was unclear whether that person was their mother or guardian and whether charges will be filed, police said.
The engine of the SUV was running when Dumas entered it and drove about three miles down the White Horse Pike, turned onto Merchant Avenue in Audubon, and collided with the other vehicle, police said. Police said they were not in pursuit at the time but were responding to a stolen-vehicle call from the liquor store.
856-779-3224 @JanHefler