Woman dragged by car for 250m after Gumtree sale goes wrong
WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT: A Perth woman has been left with horrific injuries after she was dragged 250 metres by a fleeing car when a Gumtree sale turned into a shocking robbery.
Alex Elliott, 22, from Coolbellup, was trying to sell a Gucci belt for $290 online when two male teenagers agreed to purchase the designer item.
Arriving at her home at about 7.30pm on Saturday, the pair were let in to discuss the sale but 10 minutes later they fled with the belt, leaving Ms Elliott empty handed.
“I really needed the money,” an emotional Ms Elliott told 7News.
Not giving up that easily, Ms Elliott and her partner ran after the teens. She managed to reach one of the teens who had jumped in a car.
However, after she grabbed on to the vehicle, the teen then drove off.
She was dragged along the street for 250 metres as the frantic driver tried to dispatch a persistent Ms Elliott.
Terrifying CCTV footage shows Ms Elliott clinging on to the vehicle as it mounts the kerb and swerves around a bend.
She was flung from the side of the vehicle, leaving her with severe cuts to her feet, legs and arms.
“I hit the ground so hard,” Ms Elliott said.
A witness described hearing horrifying screams as she rushed to the aid of an injured Ms Elliott.
“I heard a bang and screaming. She was screaming for help and I knew then something bad had happened,” witness Tianna said.
Ms Elliott, who has since hailed Tianna a “real angel” who saved her life, was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital where she currently remains.
Her boyfriend was able to track down the other teen on foot at a nearby park. Police say he is just 15-years-old.
Police have said the incident was one of five similar incidents where men arrived at homes to purchase items advertised online before stealing them.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the incidents are linked.
The getaway driver is yet to be identified by police, who are asking for assistance from the public in identifying the teen.
Ms Elliott, a cleaner, is unable to work for the foreseeable future and said the sale of the belt was to pay off mounting bills.
With financial insecurity ahead, she has started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of her medical expenses and her ambulance fee.
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