New York – An elderly woman was carjacked while donating clothes then got run over in a church parking lot on Saturday night.
73-year-old Lorraine Lombardo, a former nun, left her car running outside St. Mary’s Church in Lake Ronkonkoma while she quickly dropped off clothes when a homeless woman jumped in the vehicle and tried to drive off.
According to police, Lombardo opened the passenger side door and tried to wrestle the steering wheel back from Doreen Dunbar, the homeless carjacker.
Dunbar hit the gas pedal, knocked Lombardo to the ground and ran over both of her legs.
Lombardo suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover.
CBS News reported:
A Long Island woman was arraigned Monday in a shocking crime that has much of Lake Ronkonkoma talking.
The suspect tried to steal a car in a church parking lot then ran over the car’s elderly owner, police told CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan.
Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, overlooking Lake Ronkonkoma, is known for its preschool, thrift shop and donation bins to help the community. Now, they’re praying for a parishioner who was carjacked in the parking lot while dropping off clothes.
“Getting run over is horrible. But when you’re doing it, trying to do something kind, it’s terrible,” parishioner Maureen Watts-Cassero said.
The victim, a 73-year-old former nun, lives in St. James. Her friend described Lorraine Lombardo as a retired nurse with a kind heart. That gesture of kindness resulted in a violent crime.
Lombardo came to church to donate, but left the motor running when she exited her car.
According to police, 50-year-old Doreen Dunbar jumped behind the wheel, attempted to make a getaway, reversed, accelerated, knocked down the elderly woman, partially running over Lombardo’s legs, and fled.
Police said they secured surveillance video.