California authorities are on the hunt for a driver they said intentionally ran over a 77-year-old homeless woman on her way to church.
“Disgusting. Someone who is lawless, someone who does not have compassion or empathy for anyone else, disregard for life,” Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Tya Modeste told KTVU of the hit-and-run suspect.
“We want to bring this person to justice to have them be held accountable for it.”
The hearing impaired victim was walking to First Presbyterian Church just ahead of 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to witness Aaron Horner, the director of community outreach at the church. Horner said the woman regularly attends services at the church and was walking there that evening to eat dinner.
Surveillance footage of the scene shows a man driving a white Nissan Altima in the church parking lot nearly back into the woman before the two pause briefly and exchange words.
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The video then shows the elderly homeless woman, who was also pushing a grocery cart, continue on her journey to the church before the car sideswipes her.
The Altima driver then backs up and rear-ends another car in the lot before making his final attack on the woman.
Footage of the scene shows the driver appear to deliberately hit the woman with the front of his car, causing her to land on the hood before falling to the ground.
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“It happened way over there. She ended up over here – that’s like 30 feet away,” Horner told KTVU, adding that he heard “like a car revving, vroom, vroom, like he was trying to intimidate somebody.”
The elderly woman sustained head lacerations and bruises and was taken to a local hospital, the outlet reported. Saundrea Mabrey, the church’s program manager, said she visited the woman at the hospital and reported she was in good spirits.
“I was stunned, the fact that it was intentional, that hurt,” Mabrey added.
The sheriff’s office is calling on members of the public to “help us get this person in custody for this horrific act” by reporting any information they may have to 510-667-7721 or on the office’s Anonymous Tip Line at 510-667-3622.
