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Police: Car thief abandons stolen SUV with child inside

ATLANTA — Atlanta police say a woman was putting air in her tires when a man stole her car with her child in the back seat.

The victim, Hilary Grotewold, told officers she pulled up to put air in her tires at a Race Trac gas station and left her 4-year-old, Jarren Griffin, in the car just before 8 a.m.. She said as soon as she bent down, the SUV sped off.

Grotewald told Channel 2's Wendy Corona she did not hesitate to jump on the hoodand yell and the thief that her son was inside the car. She was thrown from the SUV, but continued to chase the thief down Marietta Boulevard.

She chased the car to a CVS down the street, where the thief abandoned the car with the boy safely inside, police said.

"A man jumped in my car and he went off over there and he take my mommy's phone and my mommy's purse," Jarren told Corona.

Construction workers in the area said the car thief was last seen running down Marietta Boulevard toward La Dawn Lane.

Watch Channel 2 Action News and check back with WSBTV.com for updates.