A man has been arrested in Hardin County after stealing a car with two children inside.
Wednesday afternoon at approximately 2:00, 36-year-old Frederick Ruelas, of Louisville, stole a running Mazda minivan that was parked at the Speedway gas station at 1005 North Dixie Avenue, in Elizabethtown. The vehicle contained children ages 11 and five.
After stealing the vehicle, Ruelas drove about 200 feet north on North Dixie Avenue before he stopped and told the children to get out, according to The News-Enterprise. Ruelas then traveled north to Joe Prather Highway where he was stopped and arrested by Radcliff police.
The children, from Hodgenville, were unhurt. According to the newspaper, the father of the children entered the store while the mother waited in the vehicle. The father then realized he had forgotten his debit card. The childrens’ mother took the card to her husband, and when she returned the vehicle was gone.
Ruelas was charged with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and theft by unlawful taking (automobile, more than $500). He is lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
