Young teen allegedly steals SUV with 4 kids in back seat, crashes vehicle in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Four children have been reunited with their mother after police said a young suspect stole the family's SUV while the kids were in the back seat.

Investigators said this all started at around 11 p.m. Thursday when the kids' mother went into King Laundromat along the 6700 block of Castor Avenue in Philadelphia's Oxford Circle section.

Police say she left her four kids in her Honda CR-V with the engine running, but the vehicle was gone when she returned.

"At this time, this appears this was a crime of opportunity," said Chief Inspector Scott Small with the Philadelphia Police Department. "We believe the person who stole the car saw the vehicle with the engine running."

Investigators said the male suspect who stole the vehicle drove about half a mile south on Castor Avenue but side-swiped a parked van while turning onto Comly Street.

Witnesses saw the crash and the young suspect.

"They're saying the person who stole the car, who fled after the accident was about 13 to 14 years of age," Small said. "We believe once the person who stole the vehicle realized there were children in the back seat, they exited the vehicle and fled on foot."

Investigators said it only takes a split second for something like this to happen.

The kids are back with their mother as police continue to search for the person who stole the vehicle.