A quick stop at a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles turned into a nightmare for one family when a stranger allegedly jumped into their running car and sped off with their three young children still strapped inside. What began as a split-second lapse in judgment outside the convenience store escalated into a high speed pursuit along the Pacific Coast Highway, a violent crash in Malibu and a community reckoning over how easily an ordinary errand can become a life altering emergency.
Authorities say the children, who are 2, 7 and 9 years old, survived the ordeal and are now recovering, but the chain of events has left their parents, relatives and neighbors replaying every moment. The case has also sharpened attention on how law enforcement balances the need to stop a kidnapping suspect against the risk of a dangerous chase with children trapped in the back seat.
From 7-Eleven errand to alleged kidnapping and chase
Investigators say the crisis began when a mother left her vehicle idling outside a 7-Eleven with her three sons inside while she ran into the store for what she thought would be a quick errand. According to detailed accounts, the children’s father was parked next to them in a separate vehicle and remained outside as she went in, a routine that had likely felt safe until a stranger approached. Authorities say that is when a man slipped behind the wheel of the running car and drove off, turning an everyday stop at Eleven into an alleged kidnapping in a matter of seconds, a sequence later described in depth in kidnapping reports.
The children’s father, who had been sitting in his own car nearby, tried to intervene as the suspect pulled away. Law enforcement officials say he jumped out and grabbed at the vehicle, was dragged a short distance and then fell to the ground, injured and unable to stop the theft, a harrowing moment later confirmed in initial accounts. As the suspect sped away with the three brothers still inside, the family was left on the sidewalk with no car, no phone and no clear way to track where their children were being taken.
High speed pursuit, violent crash and children’s injuries
Once the car was reported stolen with the children inside, deputies with The Los Angeles County Sheriff, Department began tracking the vehicle and initiated a pursuit that stretched from Los Angeles, California toward the coast. Authorities say the suspect refused to pull over, weaving through traffic and at times reaching dangerous speeds along the Pacific Coast Highway as patrol units followed, a sequence later outlined by investigators. Witnesses along the route described a chaotic scene, with one bystander, Trujillo, recalling that he saw the driver jump out and run after the crash and that he and others initially had no idea there were children in the wrecked car, a detail he later shared in on scene interviews.
The chase ended in Malibu when the suspect lost control and slammed into another vehicle, leaving the stolen car crumpled and the three boys trapped inside. Authorities say the impact was so violent that the children were left bloodied and disoriented, and that the suspect bolted from the wreck on foot into a nearby neighborhood before being tracked down and arrested, a sequence later reconstructed in pursuit summaries. Emergency crews rushed the brothers to the hospital, where doctors treated them for injuries that officials described as serious but not life threatening, and later confirmed that all three had been released from care, as reflected in follow up coverage from Los Angeles, California.
Family’s shock, recovery and the safety questions left behind
Relatives say the ordeal has left the close knit family shaken, even as they focus on the boys’ physical recovery. In interviews, the children’s mother described feeling utterly helpless without her sons and without her phone, which had been inside the stolen car, and recalled the agony of waiting to learn whether they had survived the crash and seeing the wreckage of the vehicle only after officers brought her to the scene, a perspective she shared in televised remarks. Other family members echoed that sense of disbelief, calling the experience “terrifying” and describing how everyone had to drop what they were doing and rush to the hospital once they learned the children had been found, a reaction captured in video interviews.
Hospital officials and local reporters later confirmed that the young children are 2, 7 and 9 years old and that all three brothers were eventually discharged, even as their father continued to recover from injuries he suffered while trying to stop the car and was praised for his quick reaction in the face of danger, details that emerged in coverage By Karla Rendon, Published September and later Updated at 11:34 in local reports. Relatives who spoke publicly described the episode as “such a big shock” and said the family is still processing how a normal afternoon turned into a near tragedy, sentiments that were documented in additional broadcast interviews.
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