LA teen dragged across parking lot after suspect steals his mom's SUV

A teen in East Los Angeles was dragged across a parking lot after someone stole his mom's SUV on Wednesday.

"They must be really desperate for that car," 16-year-old Jeremy Sandoval said. "They were crazy enough to get what they needed."

Mom Noemi Cortes decided to go for a walk while Sandoval, who works with youth, finished up his job at City Terrace Park. At some point, Cortes lost her keys during her walk. Her family was searching through the area when Sandoval came out to the parking lot and saw someone trying to steal his mom's SUV. 

"My first reaction was to get on the handle and bang on the window to see if they would stop," he said. "That didn't work so i had to just hang on to the handle."

The teen held onto the passenger door handle for about 150 feet before deciding he had to let go.

"I put my foot down and I almost went under the car," Sandoval said. "I had to turn my body and I had to push myself, scraping myself, rolling and coming to a stop."

Sandoval was left with burns, scrapes and bruises after he tried to stop the suspect. As their family's SUV drove away, Sandoval's sister remembered that their sibling's phone was still in the car. They used it to track the suspect's location and relayed the information to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as deputies pursued the suspect. 

The less than two-mile pursuit ended after deputies used a PIT maneuver in Monterey Park. Deputies arrested the suspect, but the SUV was a total loss. Sandoval said he wished he had done more to stop the suspect from stealing his mom's car. 

"He said I wanted to do more. I said you did enough," Cortes recalled. "If you had gone under the car, it would've been a different story. I would've lost it."