Hamden police Friday released video of a 63-year-old woman being dragged by a speeding car after a purse-snatching in a Stop & Shop parking lot.
The incident occurred in the lot of the 2335 Dixwell Ave. parking lot on Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m.
The woman, who lives in Hamden, “was placing groceries inside of her vehicle, when a 2012 black Hyundai Tucson, approached. The rear passenger exited the stolen vehicle and attempted to grab her pocketbook,” Hamden police spokesperson Capt. Ronald Smith wrote in a release issued Friday.
“After grabbing her pocketbook, the individual re-entered the stolen vehicle. The stolen vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. The victim had her arm stuck in the pocketbook strap and was dragged alongside the SUV for nearly 40 feet.”
The woman fell to the ground. She told police she wasn’t injured.
Smith released a video showing her being dragged by the fleeing vehicle. The video appears at the top of this story.
The thief did make off with the pocketbook. Police later recovered the Hyundai.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Joseph Liguori at (203) 407‑3190.
The rate of crime happening in New Haven and Hamden and in many other cities and towns in CT involving stolen cars is growing. This is a terrible incident, thank goodness the victim wasn't seriously hurt. This could be my mother or your mother or your grandmother your aunt or your sister or you. The court system in CT needs to treat all carjackings and muggings as violent crimes, and car thefts as serious crimes and there should be no more releasing young suspects to their guardian only to reoffend. Young people under age 18 who commit these crimes need to be put in supervised secure living facilities with intensive therapy and counseling to treat their behavior and the underlying causes of their actions.