A car with a 5-year-old boy inside was stolen from a gas station on Cleveland's east side on Wednesday, leading to a frantic search and terrifying moments for the family. Thankfully, the little boy is safe at home now, and his family is grateful to Good Samaritans for stepping up.
Sierra Mason had stopped at the Shell gas station on Lee and Harvard like she normally does, and thought she had locked the car with her 5-year-old nephew inside before running into the store.
Seconds later, a thief jumped into the driver's seat and took off -- the little boy still in the backseat.
"I start screaming, 'my baby is in the back, my baby’s in the back!'" Mason said.
Several Good Samaritans came to help her, running after the car on foot. One man pulled up in his truck and told Mason to get inside so they could chase the car down, but soon, they lost sight.
About a mile and a half away, the thief dropped 5-year-old Zyon Mason off in the middle of the street, near E. 140th and Glendale. The boy, lost and confused, was surrounded by speeding cars whizzing by.
Then, he crossed paths with William Strozier.
Strozier, on this day, took a different path than he normally does -- a path that led him right to Zyon.
"I was just happy God had me there at that time to do His work, to be that little boy's guardian angel," Strozier said.
Strozier said he asked Zyon if he knew his mom's phone number, and was surprised that he did.
Mason said the family drills important information like cell phone numbers and addresses into their children's heads.
Cleveland Police were able to reunite Zyon with his family soon after.
When asked if he was scared during the ordeal, Zyon simply said, "No, I'm not a scaredy cat."
"I’m grateful, so grateful, that you took a different route and you found my baby," Mason said to Strozier.
Police are still searching for the thief and the stolen car, which was a rental. It is a red Hyundai Sonata with Michigan plates. The thief fired a gunshot at a witness who was following after him.
