A car thief is missing her phone and sweater after victim jumps in rolling Jeep

A car thief is missing her cell phone and sweater after a quick-moving victim jumped in the rolling SUV and regained control of the vehicle after a brief struggle Monday morning in northwest Fresno.

The suspect, a young woman, was last seen running east on Barstow Avenue after the botched theft that at Wrenwood and Marks avenues about 6:30 a.m. It happened as a woman pulled into her parents’ driveway to drop off her 1-year-old daughter on the way to work.

The driver left her black Jeep running as she took the child inside. She came back out moments later and saw the woman backing out of the driveway.

“I thought it was my sister,” said the woman, before realizing that it was not.

She thought, “She’s trying to lock my car,” so the driver opened the passenger door, jumped in and managed to slam the gearshift into park.

She said she put the woman in a headlock and was trying to turn her Jeep off, but the suspect managed to wriggle free, but not before losing her sweater and phone in the struggle.

“I grabbed her tank top, but it ripped, and she took off running,” the driver said.

Police broadcast a description of the suspect, described as about 18 years old with dark hair, green shorts and the green tank top.

The victim said the phone’s screensaver shows a picture of a little girl.

“I’m sure it’s her daughter.”

John Garretson said he was surprised his daughter was able to react so quickly.

“I don’t know where this girl came from!” he said. “I’m just amazed that kids are doing this.”

Police say such thefts are not a rarity. Most occur when victims start their car to warm up, then go back inside for a few minutes.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 9:06 AM with the headline "A car thief is missing her phone and sweater after victim jumps in rolling Jeep."