Two women steal and crash vehicle with baby inside, California deputies say
Two women are in custody after allegedly stealing a vehicle with a 7-month-old baby inside and crashing the vehicle near Newcastle, Placer County sheriff’s officials said. The baby was not hurt.
The incident began in Auburn around 7 a.m. Thursday when parents were dropping off one of two children at a daycare, Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Nelson Resendes said.
The parents left the baby in their vehicle “for just a moment,” he said.
“During that moment, two females get into the car and stole it,” Resendes said. “(It’s) unknown whether they knew the 7-month-old was in the back or not.”
Deputies and the California Highway Patrol searched for the stolen vehicle and attempted to stop it, but it ultimately crashed into a power pole in the 8900 block of Highway 193, the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post shortly after 8 a.m.
Resendes said the suspect riding in the passenger seat was quickly detained, but the driver “fled into the woods,” where she was located a short time later.
The passenger suspect was later identified by the Sheriff’s Office as 23-year-old Anastacia Andino of Folsom, and the fleeing driver as 29-year-old Roniqua Wartson of Elk Grove.
Both were booked into the Placer County jail Thursday afternoon on numerous felony charges. Andino faces charges of kidnapping, child cruelty, vehicle theft and conspiracy. Wartson faces the same charges, plus evasion, obstruction and driving under the influence of alcohol, booking logs show.
The suspects and the 7-month-old were all transported to hospitals, but none suffered serious injuries, Resendes said.
“The baby’s fine,” he said. “Good ending.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 11:03 AM.
