Driver Deliberately Hits 77-Year-Old Homeless Woman Going to Church
The man deliberately followed the woman to attack her.
Police are hunting for a man who deliberately ran a homeless woman down with his car and left her injured on the street. The 77-year-old woman was crossing a parking lot on her way to church when the incident happened. "He was antagonizing her," Lt. Tya Modeste of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office told The Washington Post. "His actions were very deliberate." Here's what security footage shows and what charges the driver is facing.
Church Parking Lot Altercation
The incident took place in the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church of Hayward in Castro Valley, in the Bay Area, The Post reports. The footage shows a man driving a white Nissan Altima backing out of a parking space and almost hitting her, prompting an altercation. The woman appears to yell at the man, and the two have a back-and-forth for approximately 15 seconds.
The driver is clearly angry about the altercation and deliberately drives his car to block her from moving forward to the church. He grazes the woman, who stumbles and drops her cane. As she picks herself up, the driver circles the parking lot and accelerates. He hits a parked car and keeps going.
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Deliberate Hit and Run
The woman, who was pushing a cart, reaches the church sidewalk. The driver then accelerates the car right towards her, hitting the woman's cart. She was thrown onto the hood for three seconds before falling back onto the sidewalk. The car then drives off, leaving her there.
Church pastor Aaron Horner saw the homeless woman in distress and called emergency services. He also helped perform first aid until the ambulance arrived. According to Horner and Lt. Modeste, the woman is being treated at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for her injuries. "She's an elderly person," Modeste says. "If that doesn't stop you, I don't know what will."
Horner says the woman is well-known to the church, visiting daily for charity events and meals. "She's a good person, and she just happens to be in a bad spot," Horner says. "She's 77 and not in good health. It's going to take her a while to recover." The driver is facing possible charges for hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon.
