Kalgoorlie detectives hunt man who stole two cars with children inside northeast of Perth

A 15-year-old boy will appear in court accused of stealing two cars with children in them during a wild Goldfields rampage that seriously injured a mother and included young kids being abandoned on the side of the road.

Kalgoorlie detectives have laid 11 charges against the teen over Wednesday’s emergency situation, including stealing a motor vehicle, deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery and failing to stop for police.

He is due to appear in Kalgoorlie Children’s Court on Friday, WA Police said.

The development followed a mother being seriously injured as she was dragged for several metres while trying to stop a shirtless male allegedly stealing a car with her child inside.

The terrifying moment on Great Eastern Hwy near Gatacre Dr in the Kalgoorlie–Boulder suburb of Somerville, 600km northeast of Perth, was one of two similar alleged thefts in the area in the space of 15 minutes.

Security cameras captured the man sprinting towards an orange Kia Sportage before he hopped in through the open driver’s side door about 4.05pm on Wednesday.

A woman chased after him, opening the car door and clinging on as the vehicle took off in a cloud of smoke and dust — her child still inside.

Police spotted the car shortly after and engaged in a short pursuit, but abandoned it when the car turned down a bush track.

The child jumped from the moving vehicle and was found “visibly upset and with minor injuries”, Detective Inspector Adrian Vuleta said.

When police arrived the man had already allegedly fled.

“For a child of that age to think and have the foresight to get out of the vehicle when it was moving — yep, it was admittedly going at slow speed at the time — is an incredibly brave act by that child,” Vuleta said.

The child’s mother remains in hospital, having been hurt while trying to stop the car being driven away, but her injuries are not expected to impact her long-term.

“As a result of her trying to stop the car, which any parent would do, caring for their children, she received some serious injuries, but she is doing well,” Vuleta said.

The incident happened just 15 minutes after a white Kia Sorento with two children inside was allegedly taken from Great Eastern Hwy in West Kalgoorlie.

The car was parked in a driveway but running at the time, with the mother nearby.

“The weather is extremely hot here at the moment, so leaving the two children in the car, (they) were in there because it was air conditioned,” Vuleta said.

The children were allegedly “abandoned” by the side of the road a few streets away and were found by a local resident, who called police.

They were unharmed.

Both cars have been recovered and the teen was taken into custody after police reinforcements were flown in from Perth on Thursday morning.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers.