A terrifying moment for a sparks father happened Thursday morning when a man stole his car with his daughter still in the back seat.
The incident started on the 1500 block of 1st Street where the suspect stole the car with the girl inside. Police say he turned onto Greenbrae Drive, driving through the stop sign and heading towards McCarran in Sparks.
Police tell us he stayed in the area for the most part. He backtracked to the original location where he jumped out and got into another vehicle waiting nearby. He was arrested shortly after that.
Police have arrested Daniel Klatt-Steinbruck on charges of robbery, grand theft auto, and endangering a child.
Investigators say the girl actively fought with Steinbruck, essentially forcing him to abandon his attempt to steal the car. Fortunately the girl was not injured.
Channel 2 News spoke with police about the incident and what you and your family should do if you are faced with this type of situation.
"The suspect chose to bailout of the car and when he did that, the girl was still in the car. The car came to rest in some sort of an accident and fortunately no one was injured,” said Lt. Pete Krall with the Sparks Police Department.
Police believe the family was getting ready for school while the father went back inside to get one of the children. When the suspect took off with the 13-year-old girl inside the car, her father tried running after them.
Sparks police said they would never tell a parent what to do in this type of situation, but they did have some advice.
"He called us immediately, gave a description of what was going on, for us, that immediate information is crucial,” said Krall.
As for the child involved in this incident, police say that her actions are something to be proud of.
"She did a great job. She offered resistance and was able to provide us with at least a partial description of this person. That's a pretty grown up thing to do for a 13-year-old girl,” said Krall.
But police say that it depends on the age and maturity of the child to handle situations like this one.
"Children so many times are at a physical disadvantage. You never know if someone is armed, you never know what the circumstances are,” said Krall.
Making the best judgements you can is the best advice police can give.
"What he did and what his daughter did, both are excellent examples of good response to something like this. It's very scary, unnerving, but we're very thankful everyone is okay,” said Krall.
Overall, law enforcement says that the more aware you are of your surroundings, the safer you'll be.
