A 4-year-old boy is finally safe after being kidnapped during a carjacking in Colorado on Wednesday morning, the Denver Post reported.
The frightening incident began around 6:30 a.m. when the boy was left waiting in a Ford Edge at a gas station in Longmont. Surveillance footage shows a man, later identified as 28-year-old Ryan Stone, at the station during the time the car was stolen.
Authorities immediately issued an Amber Alert for the child after the minivan was stolen. Around 7:15 a.m., police caught up with the stolen car and watched Stone jump out and carjack a second vehicle, leading officers on a high-speed chase.
The boy was found safely by Commerce City police. According to the Post, once Stone began driving the second car, he was speeding up to 117 mph. Shortly after, he struck a Colorado State Trooper who was attempting to put down stop sticks.
"After he throws the (stop) sticks, the suspect veered his direction. The trooper ran out of the way, attempted to get out of the way by jumping the guard rail and subsequently was hit and kind of pinned under the guard rail by the vehicle. He has been transported from the scene to Littleton Hospital. He is expected to be OK," said CSP Trooper Nate Reid.
However, police said the trooper was seriously injured and underwent surgery.
Overall, the entire chase lasted over an hour.
"What we were trying to do was make sure citizens were safe but we could still apprehend this guy," said Undersheriff Spurlock with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. "He was not going to stop committing crimes."
"This is a strange and crazy morning in Colorado," investigators told the Post. "This you do not see in Colorado."
Charges are pending against Stone, who has a criminal history filled with drug charges and at least one restraining order.
