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MAGNA — Police are looking for a man who stole a vehicle that was left warming up with a 10-year-old boy still inside.
The incident happened about 7:30 a.m. in Tooele. A woman left her car warming up while she went back inside her house. That’s when a man got in the car and drove off, said Tooele Police Sgt. Jeremy Hansen.
The woman’s son, however, was still in the car. The boy was dropped off within a block of his home, Hansen said, and was not harmed.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers spotted the stolen car a short time later on I-80 near the Tooele-Salt Lake County border, Hansen said. The troopers were aware that the boy was no longer in the car, he said, but they did not engage in a chase due to the man driving recklessly in an effort to flee the area.
Troopers followed the man into Magna where the driver was able to get ahead of troopers. The stolen car was found abandoned a short time later near the Cyprus High School Brockbank Campus, 2935 S. 8560 West. Students at three schools in the area temporarily were told to shelter in place as a precaution as police looked for the driver.
Hansen said some items of clothing worn by the suspect were collected from the vehicle. As of 11 a.m. the man had not been arrested and his identity was not known.
With colder weather forecast for later this week, Hansen said the incident served as another annual reminder for residents not to leave their vehicles warming up while unattended.
