A father in Minneapolis, Minnesota, heroically saved his children after they were the victims of a carjacking Wednesday night, when he used a stolen vehicle that the suspect abandoned, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Minneapolis police said Derek Gotchie of Burnsville used a vehicle left behind by the suspect, later determined to be stolen, to track down his own vehicle, which still contained his four children sitting in the back seat. The father rammed his own vehicle and the suspect fled.
All of the children were under the age of 5, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.
A police car drives quickly out of the 3rd Precinct Police Precinct on May 26, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The pursuit began when Derek and his wife, Deanah, were parked near a friend’s home near the 800 block of Russell Avenue North unloading items from the family’s vehicle at approximately 8:40 p.m.
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As Deanah was out of the vehicle moving the items, Derek got out briefly to lock the rear door, when the suspected thief jumped out of the stolen van and got into the family car, police said.
Deanah reminded KSTP that she was confused to see the car take off without her, or her husband, inside.
“I turn around and go, ‘What?’ I look out the door and see our taillights go away,” Deanah told the outlet.
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The approximate location where the father struck the vehicle, along the intersection of Plymouth Ave N & Penn Ave N, Minneapolis.
(Google Maps)
The father then jumped into the suspect’s abandoned vehicle and pursued them to the intersection of Plymouth Ave N and Penn Ave N, less than half a mile away.
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The suspect got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, authorities said. Police did not say if any arrests have been made.
No injuries were reported.
MPD is still investigating the incident.
