Man steals car in Pierrefonds, then notices baby on board

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Police are searching for a suspect who accidentally made off with a seven-month-old baby when he stole a car in Pierrefonds.

Police got a call at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday concerning the stolen vehicle on Alexander St., said Const. Sabrina Gauthier, a spokesperson for the Montreal police service.

“The suspect quickly realized he had a baby on board the vehicle he’d just stolen,” Gauthier said.

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Before he got very far, he stopped and took the child — still in the carseat — out of the vehicle, and left them on the sidewalk on Gouin Blvd. near Alexander St. The suspect then returned to the vehicle and drove off. Witnesses quickly took charge of the child, whose mother soon arrived. The child was unharmed.

At 8:40 a.m., the stolen vehicle crashed into a cement roadblock near St-Urbain St. and Crémazie Blvd. in Villeray. The suspect fled.

Police are examining the vehicle and security camera footage for evidence, and trying to confirm with witnesses at each location that the person who crashed the vehicle in Villeray was the same man who inadvertently made off with the baby in Pierrefonds.

The mother went into shock after the incident, Gauthier said, and was interviewed by police. She is not currently facing charges for leaving the child unattended as the police investigate what happened. The woman apparently left the car running, key in the ignition, while she went to drop her older child off at a daycare.

It is illegal to leave a child under the age of seven in a vehicle alone.

mlalonde@postmedia.com

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