PITTSBURGH _ Police said a Washington County, Pa., woman stole a car with her 5-year-old nephew in the back seat and set it on fire while they were both inside, forcing bystanders to intervene and save the child.
Marketta Janay Walker, 24, of Washington was charged Thursday with attempted homicide, kidnapping, arson and other offenses.
According to a criminal complaint, Walker, who relatives told police is a paranoid schizophrenic, became upset Wednesday evening because relatives were planning on committing her to a mental health facility in Fayette County.
Walker stole the car with her nephew inside from in front of her mother's Uniontown home around 7 p.m., investigators said. She then drove the Chevrolet Cobalt to Georges Township where she crashed into a fence on the side of the road.
Another bystander, Clifford Kay, came to the scene and broke a window with a hammer he had in his truck, according to the complaint. Kay told investigators he pulled the child out of the car and had to wrestle the child away from Walker, who had the boy in a "choke hold," the complaint said.
State police arrived at the scene minutes later and took Walker into custody.
Walker was lodged in the Fayette County Jail on $200,000 bond and faces a preliminary hearing May 10.
