Thief stole car while pensioner was sitting in it

An elderly woman had an horrific experience in Dunmore when a man hopped into the vehicle, in which she was a passenger, and drove off.

The 81 year old pensioner was lucky that she did not incur any injuries during her ordeal but she was very shaken and traumatised by what happened.

Fortunately for her, the SUV was being driven slowly by the stranger and she managed to escape from the moving vehicle.

The nightmare began when the elderly woman’s daughter was driving the Opel Mokka SUV and arrived in Dunmore where she stopped to pick up something in a local shop.

She left her mother in the passenger seat, but unfortunately for her she also left the keys in the ignition while she was in the shop.

Outside, a man in his mid-forties crossed the road and got into the driver’s seat much to the consternation of the elderly woman who did not understand what was happening.

Then, to her abject horror, the man started up the engine and began to drive the vehicle slowly in the direction of The Square in Dunmore.

The pensioner decided to take a chance and opened the passenger’s door and made her escape. Her family were relieved that she didn’t suffer any injury – in fact, she remained in a standing position after alighting from the vehicle.

At no stage did the man make any conversation with the woman and Gardaí believe that he may have been drinking in a pub in Dunmore prior to taking the vehicle, which has not been recovered.

Investigating Gardaí have not been able to establish in which direction the vehicle went, but they do know that it was subsequently involved in a ‘petrol drive-off’ in Limerick.

For more on this story, see the Connacht Tribune.