Child rescued in stolen car after chase through downtown, South Los Angeles

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A child was rescued at the end of a chase involving a stolen car in the downtown and South Los Angeles areas Monday night.

The chase began around 8:35 p.m. when the stolen Dodge was spotted on Figueroa Street near the LA Live complex.

Officers pursued the suspect on surface streets from downtown to South Los Angeles and through Baldwin Hills.

After about an hour, the suspect stopped on Stocker Street and Santa Rosalia Drive in Baldwin Hills.

As officers gathered with weapons drawn, the suspect exited the vehicle. Apparently complying with officers' orders, he crawled along the asphalt to a spot on the opposite sidewalk before officers approached the vehicle.

They found a toddler in a carseat inside the vehicle and removed the child.

Police say the child has no relation to the suspect.

The child was sleeping in the backseat of the car during the chase, police said. The child was believed to be unharmed, but was being checked out in an ambulance at the scene.

A woman, the child's mother, was seen at the scene running toward the ambulance minutes after the suspect was taken into custody.

After reuniting with her son, the mother told reporters she went inside a 7-Eleven store to get a free Slurpee for her child when the carjacking happened.

"As soon as I was getting ready to walk out, not even one minute later, I seen my car drive off and I chased after the car," she said.

The mother said she pleaded for help from other drivers nearby, and she kept trying to chase after the car until she saw police. Police used the Find My iPhone app to help them track the car, she said.