Video shows West Michigan bus driver rescue 2-year-old after carjacking

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WXMI) — New video, released to FOX 17, WXYZ's Grand Rapids sister station, following a Freedom of Information Act request, shows a Kelloggsville school bus driver rescue a missing toddler.

The situation started Tuesday morning in the area of 48th Street and Marlette Avenue in Kentwood. Police say the toddler's parents were standing near their car waiting to put another child on an approaching school bus. That's when someone jumped into the running car and drove off. The toddler was inside.

Video from Kelloggsville Public Schools shows the parents flagging down Dave Skinner, a Kelloggsville school bus driver. He told FOX 17 Wednesday that the parents were frantic, asking him to call 911.

"When you get close enough, you can see the look in mom and dad's eyes. You knew something was wrong," Skinner said. "It's kind of a judgment call, so I stopped."

He called police and radioed his colleagues about the situation.

READ MORE: ‘They were frantic': Bus drivers help parents get toddler back after car was stolen with child inside

One of those co-workers, Sue Figueroa, heard that call and said she believed she had just passed the 2-year-old.

"The direction she came from, she had seen a child standing on the side of the road with a blanket," Skinner said. "I'm still dealing with mom and dad. And then Kristen, she gets on the radio and tells her to turn around and go back and pick the child up."

Kristen Nickelson was at the office and told Figueroa everything that was going on. Figueroa turned her bus around, and video shows the toddler sitting on a driveway near the intersection of Garland Street and Jefferson Avenue. You can see Figueroa get off the bus, pick the toddler up and bring him back on. She then drove the child back to his parents. The video shows the emotional reunion.

According to Kelloggsville Public Schools, roughly 10 minutes had passed between when the car was stolen and the reunion. Investigators say the crime appears to be random.

Officers say they found the stolen car in Grand Rapids near 43rd Street and Breton Road shortly after it was snatched. At last check, police have not arrested a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detective Bureau at 616-656-6604. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or silentobserver.org.

READ MORE: Mother 'immensely relieved' after school bus drivers return toddler in stolen car