‘It really scared me’: N.B. senior left bruised and shaken after carjacking

A 72-year-old woman was bruised after a carjacking in Moncton.

A Moncton senior says she’s still trying to come to terms with someone stealing her vehicle while she was dropping something off at a friend’s house.

Brenda Warren, 72, didn’t want to appear on camera, but spoke with CTV News Atlantic by phone about what happened Tuesday morning on Walsh Street.

She said she had only been out of her car for a few moments when she noticed someone walking toward it.

“I screamed ‘No,’ and ran,” Warren said.

She said she grabbed onto the vehicle, hoping the person would stop.

“I wasn’t scared at all until after,” she said. “I was so full of adrenaline.”

Warren said she was thrown to the ground as the vehicle sped away. The fall left her bruised and scraped, but she says the emotional impact has been the hardest part.

“It’s my mind,” she said. “It really scared me.”

Warren said she’s especially worried another senior may not be as lucky.

“One time can kill you,” she said.

Her daughter Sally Dickinson says seeing her mother like that was heartbreaking.

“It was the absolute most terrifying thing to happen in our town,” Dickinson said. “To happen in a town where she’s lived 72 years…it’s just heartbreaking.

“You see the pictures and the bang on her head. That was only when it first happened. The bruising is a little more now,” she said.

The thief also got away with Warren’s purse, identification, bank cards, cash and cellphone. The vehicle was later recovered.

Dickinson says the family turned to social media after the theft, sharing photos and information in hopes someone would recognize the vehicle. She says the response from the community helped generate tips that were passed along to police.

Dickinson says she’s grateful for the support, but worries another family may not be as fortunate.

“It’s unsafe for our seniors. Something has to change. Somebody’s mom is going to get killed.”

On Thursday morning, another Moncton-area family reported having a vehicle stolen while the driver briefly stepped away from it. Tyler Steeves says his father’s vehicle was taken while checking the mail at a property he manages.

RCMP say reports of vehicle thefts fluctuate across New Brunswick and many are crimes of opportunity. They encourage people to lock their vehicles, keep keys with them, remove valuables from sight and never leave a vehicle running unattended.

For Warren, the hardest part isn’t the bruises.

“I wouldn’t walk down the street alone now,” she said. “It’s taken something out of me.”

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