A determined, and brave little girl carried her baby brother to safety after a man stole the car the children had been left in while their mom withdrew cash from an ATM, and dumped them several blocks away.

A Las Vegas mom, whose car was stolen with two of her kids inside, shared the horrifying incident that occurred on Tuesday, October 25, at around 8:30 pm outside a 7-Eleven in Las Vegas.

Karen Quinn said that she was driving her Dodge SUV, and she had her daughter and baby boy, nine-years-old and 11 months, when she stopped to withdraw money from an ATM at the 7-Eleven.

She told the police that she left the car engine running and locked her kids inside the car as she ran into the 7-Eleven to use the ATM. When she got inside, she noticed a man inside and locked eyes with him as he was sitting at a slot machine. He seemed as if he had a “bad spirit.”

The suspect, whom police identified as Mario Estrada, 38, who may have been watching her get out of her car, got up, walked over to her SUV, and peeked inside. When she saw this, she ran to the car, but Estrada had already opened the door (which was supposedly locked) and taken the wheel. The store clerk said he heard the mom screaming for her children.

Quinn said she tried to grab Estrada when he opened the door and managed to grab him by his sweater. He quickly put the car in reverse, and the tire rolled over Quinn’s foot.  She screamed and told him that her kids were still in the car. She continued to plead with him to release her kids and take the car, but the man quickly sped off.

In an attempt to save her babies, Quinn ran after the stolen car on foot, until she could no longer continue the chase.

According to the police, Estrada finally pulled over at Decatur Boulevard, dumped the kids on the sidewalk, and drove off.

Quinn’s nine-year-old daughter took action and carried her 11-month-old baby brother, and somehow found her way back to the 7-Eleven. She walked five blocks with no shoes on and her brother in her arms.

Quinn, who was extremely relieved to learn from the police that the children were safe, rushed back to the store to get them. She said that her kids were traumatized by the incident, and that her nine-year-old was scratched and sore from walking barefoot and carrying her brother.

Meanwhile, another police officer spotted Estrada driving Quinn’s stolen Dodge on I-15 and pursued the car. A high-speed chase ended in a road accident in which Estrada crashed into another car on the I-15 at the Charleston intersection.

The driver of the other car was not injured. Estrada exited the wrecked car and tried to flee on foot, but the police were able to catch and arrest him. After medical attention, he was booked into a jail in the city.

Estrada faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, grand theft, and child abuse.