21-year-old carjacker dumps baby on traffic-heavy road in New Orleans, police say

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- A 1-year-old is back with his family, safe and sound, after a life-threatening incident.

Authorities in New Orleans said the baby was inside a vehicle that was carjacked and later left on the side of a traffic-heavy road.

Brian Stewart says he was on his way to work Wednesday morning when he saw something unusual on the Almonaster Boulevard overpass in the east.

"I was just riding. Heading to the landfill. I saw an object on the side of the road. As I got closer I thought maybe it was a baby doll or something. As I got closer I realized that was a real person there," Stewart said. "I pulled to the side of the road. Walked back. The baby started kinda crawling toward me. I called 911. As I was on the phone with him, telling him who I am and stuff, an officer was taking an exit. I flagged him down."

Local officials believe 21-year-old Johnathon Perkins took off with a white Subaru parked outside of a business along the street not realizing a baby was still in the car.

Police believe Perkins left the 1-year-old on the bridge before abandoning the vehicle.

The parents later reunited with their baby.

"For the family. I'm glad they got their baby back unharmed and that he's safe and sound tonight. Because he was really brave," Stewart said.

As for Stewart, he says he simply did what anyone would do if they saw a baby in danger on the shoulder of a busy overpass.

"I would expect anybody to do the same thing. I just stopped and I wasn't about to leave him there. So I just did what I thought anybody else would do," Stewart said.

Perkins is wanted for numerous charges including aggravated kidnapping of a juvenile.

Anyone with information about his location is asked to contact the authorities.