iStock/Thinkstock(MIAMI) — Surveillance video from a South Florida gas station caught the moment a woman jumped on top of a man’s car after he allegedly stole her purse, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO).
The incident happened on Sept. 17, while Janelle Della-Libera, 32, was pumping gas, according to the BSO incident report obtained by ABC News Monday. Della-Libera heard someone open and close the driver’s door of her vehicle and then saw a man running with her purse in his hand.
As the suspect got in his car and attempted to drive away, Della-Libera “jumped on top of his vehicle’s hood, attempting to prevent him from fleeing,” the incident report said. As the suspect “started accelerating,” she was “forced from the hood to the windshield and then to the front part of the vehicle’s roof.”
The suspect then “made a sharp right turn,” and Dell-Libera “lost her balance and fell down between the vehicle’s body and the opened driver’s door,” the incident report added. “The suspect’s vehicle then ran over the victim’s left ankle and fled the area.”
Emergency personnel checked Della-Libera at the scene before she was transported to a hospital by her husband, according to the report.
Della-Libera told ABC News Monday that she suffered a severely sprained ankle, in addition to multiple cuts and bruises.
“It literally feels like I’ve been hit by a bus,” she said. “I was actually hit by a car, so I guess that’s pretty close.”
“While it was going on, every single second, I was just like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening, I can’t believe this is happening!'” she added.
After watching the surveillance video more than 50 times, Della-Libera said she thought she “could have handled the situation better” but she does want other women to know that “they have the power to fight back.”
“My instincts just took over and I did everything I could to try to not be taken advantage of,” she said. “If anything, I hope this reminds people to always stay vigilant. We’re a generation of multitasking and doing a million things at one time, but it leaves us vulnerable to people like this. So just always be aware of who and what’s around you.”
The suspect caught on the surveillance video was not identified nor located as of this afternoon, according to BSO public information officer Joy Oglesby.
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