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Police: Car In Roosevelt Stolen With Girls Asleep Inside

ROOSEVELT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Long Island are looking for a suspect who they said stole a car while two girls were asleep inside.

It happened just after 11 p.m. Wednesday in front of the Midway Deli on Nassau Road in Roosevelt.

As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, the whole thing was caught on camera.

In surveillance video from the scene, a car is seen pulling up outside the deli. A woman gets out of the driver's side and goes inside. A boy then follows from the passenger's side with the car still running.

A few minutes later, a man is seen walking down the sidewalk where he appears to stumble while stepping off the curb. He is then seen getting behind the wheel of the Mercedes Benz before the car pulls away.

Surveillance camera from Midway Deli in Roosevelt captures guy hopping in running car and taking off. Police say a woman's two sleeping daughters were inside, and the mom left the car on while she went inside the deli. Girls managed to escape; suspect still at large. More at 12pm CBS New York

Posted by Andrea Grymes on Thursday, June 9, 2016

The mother and son walked into to order food, and surveillance video showed them inside for a little more than 5 minutes.

Police said inside the car were the woman's two daughters, ages 17 and 6, who were sleeping in the back seat.

In the video, the boy and the mother are then seen coming out of the deli and looking for the car. Police said the mother then called 911.

Customer Jim Brown showed up at the deli right after the car left and said the mother was hysterical.

"She was frantic. She was really upset, she was really upset. She wasn't worried about the car, she was worried about the children," he told CBS2's Andrea Grymes. "She was bawled up in the corner over here on the floor just crying with her head on her hands, talking, 'My babies, my babies' and I have children, so I understand that."

Carlos Caceres was the cook on duty at the time.

"Her daughters were in the car sleeping. They called police and they came right away," he said.

At some point, police said the sisters woke up and realized the person driving the car wasn't their mother.

Police said the two managed to escape when the car slowed down in neighboring Freeport. They then flagged down another motorist who took them home.

"I have little sisters. I would try to grab the guy, punch him from behind in the car. I would be scared, what if he had a weapon," Nancy Osorio said.

The stolen car was eventually found behind a warehouse on Merrick Road in Freeport, but the driver was gone.

"The sisters were unable to describe the subject who was driving the car," Nassau County Police Officer Christopher Barling told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.

Police said the sisters suffered minor bruising from jumping out of the car. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment.

People in the neighborhood cannot believe what happened.

"I just think that crazy someone would jump in the car with kids in it," one woman said.

The children were treated for bruises. The carjacker got away and is on the loose.

The mother will not face charges because an adult, age 17, was in the car with the 6-year-old.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

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