Elderly Woman Donating Clothes To Church Run Over By Homeless Carjacker

A homeless woman in Long Island, New York is accused of stealing a car parked outside a church and then running over its elderly owner, police said.

The victim, 73-year-old Lorraine Lombardo, a former nun who lives in St. James, had come to the Historic St. Mary's Episcopal Church, to donate some clothes.

Lombardo had left the motor running when she briefly exited her car.

That’s when the alleged carjacker, 50-year-old Doreen Dunbar jumped behind the wheel and attempted to make a getaway.

She reversed, accelerated and knocked down Lombardo, before partially running over the elderly woman's legs as she opened the driver’s side door and tried to wrestle the steering wheel back from Dubar’s hands, police said.

Dunbar then fled the scene on foot after crashing the vehicle into a nearby guardrail and a fence, police said.

The shocking episode was captured by the surveillance cameras in the area.

"Getting run over is horrible. But when you're doing it, trying to do something kind, it's terrible," Parishioner Maureen Watts-Cassero told CBS New York.

Lombardo was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital after the priest called 911. She had surgery and remains in stable condition, according to reports.

"It's terrible that somebody wants to donate clothes to the church and ... But it's a lesson: don't leave the keys in the car with the motor running," neighbor Eugene Rath said.

Lombardo's friends are wishing for her speedy recovery.

"It's a shame. I hope she recovers and she's OK, and hopefully the woman who did this will get the help that she needs," neighbor Kim Gray said.

Dunbar was captured a short time later with the help of a helicopter and a K9 unit.

The homeless woman was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and second-degree robbery, police said.

"I come to the church. I come to buy stuff in the thrift store, it's my favorite place. And now, believe me or not, I am a little scared," Elida Clemente said.