Man critically injured after jumping on his SUV to stop carjacking
Shocking video shows a New Jersey man being taken on a wild ride as he clings to the hood of his SUV in an attempt to prevent a couple of teens from stealing the vehicle — but is critically injured when he is thrown off.
The carjackers, ages 19 and 17, walked through an unlocked back door of the home of James Dillon, 59, in Belleville, where they snatched a set of car keys, according to News 12 New Jersey.
Dillon and his wife sprang into action to keep the teens from taking off in their silver Lincoln SUV on Tuesday morning.
“The wife put a garbage can behind the car to try to prevent it, while the husband tried to remove them from the car,” Belleville police Lt. John McAloon said.
But when that didn’t work, Dillon threw caution to the wind and hopped onto the hood, holding on for dear life for about two miles before finally falling off.
His daughter Angela said he was hospitalized with broken ribs, a broken collarbone and bleeding in his brain.
The stolen vehicle eventually crashed on South 11th Street in Newark and the two suspects were arrested after a short foot chase by cops, according to the news outlet.
Lorenzo Esiahs, 19, faces a charge of attempted murder, officials said. The 17-year-old has not been named due to his age and it was unclear if he was charged.
Angela said her dad’s actions didn’t surprise her.
“I feel like if this did happen, and my dad didn’t do anything, that would be very unlike him,” she said. “He’s always just been very protective so … the fact that he went to the extent of going on the hood of the car is — that’s my dad.”
A Belleville police sergeant said he understood that people might want to protect their hard-earned possessions, but that such extreme measures are unwise.
“I guess emotions were involved and it’s not recommended. I wouldn’t recommend jumping on a moving vehicle,” the sergeant told reporters.
Earlier in the day, a similar incident happened nearby on Prospect Street, where another SUV was stolen from a driveway, hitting other vehicles on its way out.
“They also went inside my house and they stole all the keys for my other vehicles, too. Right now, we’re just very scared about the situation,” car owner Veronica Jerez said, according to WCBS.
“This block was very quiet, very nice neighborhood, and now we gotta be very alert,” she added.
Police were investigating whether the suspects in Dillon’s case are the same ones involved in the theft on Prospect Street.