An 8-year-old boy rescued his sister from the grasp of a kidnapper, both tumbling out of a moving car as their grandmother clung to the driver’s door before she was dragged to the ground outside an Ohio hospital.
A video of the dramatic rescue was released by local police as they announced they had charged a 24-year-old man with kidnapping, felonious assault, and grand theft.
Nita Coburn, 69, had pulled up to the emergency room in Middletown, Ohio on April 25 to drop off another woman. But as she helped her into the Atrium Medical Center, a man leaped into the driver’s seat of her car and started to drive off, with her two grandchildren in the back.
Coburn ran to the car, grabbed hold of the door and was dragged along before her grip was torn away by the accelerating car—unaware that her grandchildren had already escaped.
The video shows the two children tumbling out of the rear door just as Coburn runs alongside the car.
“The little boy opened the door to escape and the little girl started to jump out also but the man grabbed the hoodie of the little girl not allowing her to leave.,” said the Middletown police office in a statement. “As she tried to get away her little brother grabbed hold of her and pulled her away from the kidnapper and they both tumbled out of the vehicle as it was moving.”
Police identified the driver was as heroin addict Dalvir Singh from India, 24, who was arrested after two officers saw the vehicle fleeing the scene.
According to the police, Coburn opened the driver’s door to regain control of the car, but Singh slammed the door shut and locked it. “She hung onto the vehicle panicking because she thought the children were still inside,” said the statement. “The vehicle dragged her until it accelerated at a high rate of speed and she was forced to let go.”
Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw praised Chance’s actions.
But she said she wasn’t afraid.
“That car didn’t bother me at all,” Coburn said. “It was them two babies. No one needs to feel that fear. No one does.”
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