A stranger took the wheel of an SUV that a lady had left running with her 2-year-old boy inside in Brooklyn on Friday morning, and the child was saved within 10 minutes when cops stopped the joyrider, according to authorities.
The 32-year-old mother called 911 and told officers she left her Nissan Pathfinder running with the toddler in the backseat as she entered a deli on Sutter Avenue near Van Sinderen Avenue in Brownsville, police said.
While she was in the store, Maurice Stephens, 34, got behind the wheel and drove away with the toddler, according to police.
The alleged carjacker drove about a mile before being stopped by officers at Wyona Street and Liberty Avenue at 10:50 a.m., according to authorities.
The boy was safely rescued, and Stephens, who is unrelated to the family, was placed in handcuffs, officials said.
Stephens, of Brooklyn Heights, faces charges of fourth-degree grand larceny, second-degree kidnapping, illegal possession of stolen property, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to police.
He was previously arrested in January for criminal possession of a controlled narcotic in Midtown Manhattan, according to officials.
