SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A man accused of pushing a woman from a moving vehicle during a carjacking Tuesday morning is now behind bars and facing criminal charges, according to San Antonio police.
San Antonio police said they caught up with the suspect within about an hour after the 7:30 a.m. crime.
Officers responded to a call from the victim and found that woman near the corner of Compton and Curtis streets, on the city’s South side.
The woman told police as she drove in that neighborhood, a man suddenly approached her with a gun and demanded her SUV, according to SAPD.
“(He) told her to get out. Somehow, some way, he gets in the vehicle, in the driver’s side door,” said Sgt. Ralph Salazar with SAPD. “And as the vehicle’s moving, he pushed her out of the moving vehicle.”
Salazar said the victim suffered minor cuts to her leg when she landed on the ground.
“Any day, it’s very, very traumatizing, especially early in the morning,” Salazar added, saying that the woman was shaken up from the ordeal.
As officers worked to gather information from her, they soon received word that her stolen vehicle had been spotted, police said.
Police on the ground had assistance in tracking down the SUV from officers in SAPD’s E.A.G.L.E. helicopter.
They found the vehicle abandoned on a piece of private property off Linn Road, about six miles from where it was stolen, according to officials.
Police said the suspect and a female passenger bailed out of the SUV and attempted to run. Both were caught nearby, and the man was arrested.
It was not clear right away, though, whether the woman would face any charges.
Police said the recovered SUV did not appear to have sustained any damage. They expected it would be turned back over to its owner.
Salazar, meanwhile, took time to remind everyone who owns a car to constantly be on alert.
“Passing the warning out to lock your doors and look around to your surroundings when you’re getting out of the vehicle,” he said.