A stranger hopped behind the wheel of an SUV a woman left running with her 2-year-old son inside in Brooklyn Friday morning – and the tot was saved within 10 minutes when cops pulled over the joyrider, authorities said.
The 32-year-old mom called 911 and told cops she left her Nissan Pathfinder running with the toddler in the backseat as she stepped into a deli on Sutter Avenue near Van Sinderen Avenue in Brownsville, police said.
While she was in the store, 34-year-old Maurice Stephens got behind the wheel and drove off with the toddler, said cops.
The alleged carjacker drove for nearly a mile when officers spotted him at Wyona Street and Liberty Avenue and pulled him over around 10:50 a.m., authorities said.
The boy was recovered safely and Stephens – who has no relation to the family – was placed in cuffs, authorities said.
Stephens, of Brooklyn Heights, was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, second-degree kidnapping, criminal possession of stolen property and endangering the welfare of a child, cops said.
He has one prior arrest, for criminal possession of a controlled substance from January in Midtown Manhattan, authorities said.
