A 77-year-old woman in Castro Valley, California, was hospitalized after being targeted by a hit-and-run driver in a church parking lot. Authorities say the elderly California woman, who is hearing-impaired and experiencing homelessness, was walking to First Presbyterian Church the evening of Feb. 11 with her cane and a shopping cart. Camera footage shows several tense encounters between her and a motorist, who eventually strikes the woman and then drives away.
A church employee who witnessed the attack says the woman attends worship services and meals at First Presbyterian. She sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities are asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the suspect, who faces several charges.
Disturbing Incident Caught on Tape
Surveillance video posted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office shows an unsettling sequence of events that occurred about 7:30 p.m. After nearly hitting a woman who was walking through the parking lot, the driver of a white Nissan Altima exchanges words with her. Then he circles and sideswipes the woman, knocking her cane from her hand. “The suspect may have brushed against the victim with his vehicle, which caused her to yell at him,” according to sheriff’s officials.
Again the driver circles, then backs up and rear-ends a parked vehicle. Before leaving the scene, the motorist seems to intentionally hit the woman, who lands on the car’s hood and then falls to the ground. Bystanders offered aid, and the woman was taken to a local hospital. She reportedly suffered bruises and head lacerations.
Aaron Horner, the church’s community outreach director, says the victim ended up about 30 feet from where she was struck. He heard the car “revving…like [the driver] was trying to intimidate somebody.” Of the victim, Horner tells a local reporter: “She’s already struggling, so to see her treated like that, that was just rough.” To the person responsible, Horner says, “Hope you get the help you need. Hurting other people is not it.”
After visiting the woman in the hospital, church program manager Saundrea Mabrey described her as being in good spirits despite her injuries. “I was stunned,” says Mabrey. “The fact that it was intentional, that hurt.”
Authorities: Suspect Has a ‘Disregard for Life’
First Presbyterian, which has an active community outreach program, hosts a nightly meal at its facilities. The church shares a parking lot with a grocery store, and some residents say the area has become so “dangerous” they no longer shop there.
Other online comments about the hit-and-run video express disgust, with several people suggesting the incident should be considered attempted murder.
Sheriff’s Lt. Tya Modeste says the California woman is fortunate to be alive, saying the “disgusting” attack was committed by “someone who is lawless, someone who does not have compassion or empathy for anyone else, disregard for life.” Modeste adds, “We want to bring this [suspect] to justice to have them be held accountable for it.”
