11-Year-Old Boy Texts Dad For Help During Carjacking

An 11-year-old boy from New York City sent his dad an urgent text message after a carjacker stole his SUV while he was still inside. David Perez told WABC that he parked the car in front of a grocery store and left it running while he went inside to pick up a few things.

While he was shopping, an unknown man jumped into the driver's seat and drove away with David's son Daniel sitting in the front seat.

"He sent me a text saying, 'Dad, help.' That just took me and made it real," Perez told the news station. "He was hysterically crying, saying, 'Dad, please come get me… This guy took your car.'"

David called the police and used an app to track the location of his son's phone.

Daniel said that the thief sped away and got onto the highway, where he reached speeds of more than 100 mph and crashed twice.

After 20 harrowing minutes, the thief let Daniel off on the side of the road, and he immediately called his dad.

"Luckily, I got a video call from my son… I picked up, and my son was outside the car," Perez said.

While Daniel was unharmed during the incident, he told the WABC the experience left him "traumatized."

Authorities have not identified the suspect but said he was also responsible for stealing a phone charger from a convenience store after the carjacking.