LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Authorities have charged a Shepherdsville mom they say left her 13-month-old daughter alone inside a parked vehicle earlier this month -- an act they say led to the child's brief kidnapping.

Police say 32-year-old Kayla Simpers left the child unattended in the unlocked vehicle at a UPS Store in Shepherdsville on the afternoon of Dec. 16. She left the vehicle running, according to police.

Her actions, police say, made it possible for 22-year-old Joshua Reynolds, a convicted felon, to steal the car with the toddler inside. 

A police sergeant initially spotted the vehicle and tried to make a traffic stop, but Reynolds kept going as a chase began, according to Shepherdsville Police Chief Rick McCubbin.

The chase continued on I-65 into Jefferson County, where police say Reynolds crashed 12 minutes after the SUV was stolen. Though the child wasn't hurt, she was taken to a hospital as a precaution, McCubbin said.

Police released body camera video showing Reynolds being taken into custody, as well as the child being pulled from the back seat.

Reynolds may have been under the influence of drugs at the time, police say. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence, kidnapping and other charges, according to Bullitt County jail records.

Days later, Simpers was cited and charged with second-degree wanton endangerment. She was not arrested, but was given a date and time to appear in Bullitt District Court to answer for the charge.

Shepherdsville Police Maj. Mike O'Donnell said police felt it was the right thing to do to wait a few days after the incident to issue the citation.

"That child needed the 100 percent attention of her mother," he said.

Reynolds remains in the Bullitt County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond.

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