NEW BRITAIN -- A car theft suspect got more than they bargained for Sunday when they stole a vehicle with two children inside.
According to police and the family, around 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon a woman was fueling a Toyota Sierra minivan at a gas station at 345 Columbus Blvd. Her two grandchildren were inside the van.
When she went inside the store to pay, a suspect jumped in the van and sped away with the two children still in the back seat. Another car followed the stolen van.
As police put out bulletins about the theft to surrounding communities, the suspect pulled over and pushed the children out of the vehicle nearby on Cliff Street. The older child was unharmed and the younger child was treated for a bump on the head.
A resident nearby saw the children being pushed out of the van and stood by them until police arrived.
Police in West Hartford saw the white Toyota Sienna with a handicapped tag and a Puerto Rican flag sticker, but were unable to stop it. It was found later abandoned in Hartford.
