PORT HURON, Mich. (WXYZ) — A teenager is in custody after allegedly stealing a car in Port Huron with a child inside, leading police on a chase into Macomb County.
Police say the vehicle was stolen from a gas station near Pine Grove Avenue and Hancock Street in Port Huron around 9:03 p.m.
Watch the video reports below:
We're told there was a 1-year-old child asleep in the back seat at the time of the theft.
It was eventually located on I-94 by Marysville police, who then began pursuing the vehicle.
The St. Clair County Sheriff's Office joined the chase and continued with speeds reaching over 100 mph.
See dash cam video of the chase ending in the video below
Police say the chase ended when the suspect, a 16-year-old, crashed into multiple parked cars at the Sugarbush Tavern off of 21 Mile Road near Sugarbush in Chesterfield Township.
The driver was taken into custody, and the 1-year-old child was found unharmed and returned with its mother.
"The big takeways is to not leave your child in a running vehicle in a public space," St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King said.
The child's mother said she regrets leaving her son in the car.
"I walked in, I wasn't even there five minutes and my car was gone," the child's mother Destiny Foote said. "Never doing it again. Nope. He'll always come with. It's definitely a lesson learned."
Watch our extended interview with Destiny Foote in the video player below:
Foote is relieved to be reunited with her son.
"I sat there and I cried, holding him tight. Just wanting to be with him was all," she said. "I'm glad he's good, I'm glad he's being himself and walking around and running and playing and talking and being his normal self."
Police say the suspect was taken to the Macomb County Jail and faces several charges including kidnapping, fleeing and eluding police and unlawful driving away of an automobile. Deputies say he has a lengthy criminal history.
