Winnipeg woman, 29, charged with 2 counts of kidnapping after car stolen with kids inside

A 29-year-old Winnipeg woman has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, along with a series of other charges, after police say she stole a vehicle with two children inside and led officers on a high-speed chase Monday night. 

Police say they received a report around 10 p.m. that a woman got into a vehicle in the parking lot of a hotel in the 1800 block of Ellice Avenue, west of Berry Street, through the driver's side door and drove off, with two children still inside the vehicle.  

Although the children pleaded with her to stop, she refused, driving for about 10 minutes before she stopped and let them out, police said in a Tuesday news release.

Around 10:49 p.m., a police patrol unit spotted the stolen vehicle near Ness Avenue and Century Street. Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver took off at high speed.

Officers found the vehicle again a few minutes later at Erin Street and Richard Avenue, in the Sargent Park area, and tried to stop it again, but the driver side-swiped a police vehicle and kept going.

A few minutes past 11 p.m., the the woman collided into another vehicle on Pembina Highway, causing both vehicles "to spin out of control" and leaving the driver of the second vehicle with minor injuries, police said.

Two minutes after that, the stolen vehicle hit another vehicle on Grant Avenue at Stafford street, badly damaging both cars, according to police. The woman fled on foot. The driver of the other vehicle didn't need medical attention, police said.

Officers found the 29-year-old suspect near the second crash and took her into custody.

She's charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of forcible confinement, theft of a motor vehicle, and a series of driving-related charges, including operating a vehicle while impaired, flight while pursued by a peace officer and driving without a licence.

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