A carjacker jumped into an idling car in West Edmondale yesterday morning and sped off with two young children as their father tried frantically to intervene.
The carjacking began about 6:50 a.m. when a Woodlawn man left his 1993 Acura unlocked and running with his sons, ages 2 and 4, in the back seat while he paid for gasoline inside the Shell station at 5317 Edmondson Ave., police said.
The father "ran out and jumped on the car in an attempt to stop the suspect from stealing the car," said Cpl. Vickie Warehime of the Baltimore County police.
The carjacker kept driving, knocking the father to the pavement.
The children were found unharmed a short time later by Baltimore police. Their 25-year-old father, whose name was not released by police, suffered a minor leg injury but was not hospitalized.
After leaving the station, the carjacker apparently drove east on Edmondson Avenue for about 10 blocks, then dropped off the children.
They were found by police at Edmondson Avenue and North Chapel Gate Lane. The children were reunited with their father about 7:15 a.m.
Police recovered the Acura at 5:30 p.m. yesterday in the 3800 block of Cedar Drive in Rossville, Warehime said. It was towed to police headquarters in Towson, where it will be examined for evidence.
