AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — A man is behind bars in Aurora after stealing a car with a 2-year-old inside of it and taking off on a police chase.

A little after midnight Wednesday at the Quality Inn, a mom quickly ran to her room with her 2-year toddler in the car. Police say the mom and her son had just gone on a ride to try to help him get to sleep.

“She came back out to get the child in the car and unfortunately the car and the child were gone,” Acting Aurora Police Chief Chris Juul said.

Thirty minutes after the mom called police and a be-on-the-lookout alert went out, an officer spotted the car in Aurora. Juul said the driver immediately took off and a pursuit began. 

“Speeds during the pursuit did range up to just over 100 miles per hour, so it was pretty scary for the officers involved too,” Juul said. “They are trying to weigh the risk of it, knowing that that 2-year-old is most likely in that car, but that’s just not something that we could turn away from in that circumstance.”

After pursuing the car for about half an hour, Brighton Police were able to stop it, deflating the tires of the car with stop sticks.

Once stopped, Rodriquez Porter was arrested for second-degree kidnapping, aggravated motor vehicle theft and eluding.

I think it just awareness being cautious when you know, we’re we’re leaving. You know, our children unattended is a great thing to keep in mind. But we also know it’s you know, parenting is challenging sometimes.

“Sometimes you think you’re running for just a second and you know, unfortunate things happen,” Juul said. “A lot of empathy to mom, certainly a very scary situation for her, and just so happy that it turned out okay.”

The 2-year-old boy was found safe and unharmed inside of the car and a Platte Valley ambulance crew gave him a ride back to his mom in Aurora. 

“I have a lot of empathy for mom, . Certainly a very scary situation for her. And just so happy that it turned out okay.

Victim Services is now working with the mom and APD plans to cover the costs to replace her tires and get her car out of impound.