An elderly woman had her car stolen in the parking lot of a Long Island church — and then was run over by the thief, police said Sunday.
Victim Lorraine Lombardo, 73, was seriously injured but is expected to survive.
Lombardo pulled into the St. Mary’s Church parking lot on Lake Shore Drive in Lake Ronkonkoma about 6:45 p.m. Saturday and got out of her idling 2013 Chevrolet Spark near the clothing donation bins.
That’s when Doreen Dunbar, 50, saw her chance and jumped into the driver’s seat, Suffolk County police said.
Lombardo ran back to her car, opened the driver’s side door and grabbed the steering wheel in an attempt to prevent Dunbar from driving off, police said.
But Dunbar pulled into reverse and accelerated, knocking Lombardo to the ground, according to police. Dunbar ran over Lombardo’s legs as she drove off, only to slam the Chevy into a guardrail and fence, they said.
Dunbar abandoned the wreck and ran off. Police used a helicopter and dogs to track her down and arrest her, authorities said.
Medics took Lombardo, of St. James, to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Dunbar, also hospitalized, is charged with felony assault and robbery.
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