A good Samaritan was stranded when a 16-year-old hitchhiker stole her car in Dunedin, police said.
A Dunedin woman offered a ride to an Oamaru youth in Pinehill about 3pm yesterday, but he took the woman's car as she picked up her children from a local school, Sergeant Kane Shaw said.
"While she's stopped to get her kids from school, the guy's jumped into the driver's seat and taken off,'' he said.
The 16-year-old drove the car to Oamaru, where he was found by police four hours later, Sgt Shaw said.
The youth was charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and would appear in the Youth Court in Dunedin today.
