Woman robbed while filling up at gas station

ATLANTA — A woman says a thief tried to steal her purse at a local gas station and then ran over her.

Channel 2’s Craig Lucie met the victim Thursday afternoon, and she walked him through how the assault happened and shared a warning for others filling up at the pump.

Jane Cranshaw has to walk with a crutch right now. She said a man ran over her leg at the Racetrac gas station on Marietta Boulevard in northwest Atlanta.

She says she pulled in at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13, to fill up.

“When my car was full, I opened the door, got out, put the nozzle up and by the time I turned around, this young man was reaching in my car getting my purse,” said Cranshaw.

Cranshaw said that’s when her instincts kicked in.

“He grabbed my purse; I grabbed my purse, as well and his hoody,” said Cranshaw.

The two struggled in the parking lot near the gas pumps. She said the man jumped in his car and she went after him again.

“I reached in to grab my purse again and as he pulled away, I fell down, and so my leg was underneath his car and he took off rapidly. I went to the emergency room and they X-rayed my leg. Nothing was broken, but it’s a huge crush injury with lots of swelling and redness,” said Cranshaw.

We covered a similar crime at the same Racetrac in 2013, when a woman said a man jumped in her car and drove away with her 4-year-old child inside.

“He could have the car, he could have the purse, just give me my baby,” said Hilary Grotewold in 2013.

Grotewold told Channel 2 at the time that she jumped on the hood of her car to stop the suspect. The man eventually ditched the car and her son was found unharmed.

Cranshaw told us she wants people to learn from her experience.

“I wanted to tell as many people as possible about this so people could be a little more careful and it would prevent that,” said Cranshaw.

Police say this type of crime is called slider theft because people slide into cars while people are filling up at the pump. Cranshaw said the man didn’t get her wallet because it was under her arm. She said her phone was tucked away in her car and she also had her keys in her hand. But she said the man did get away with her purse, which had her checkbook inside. She said the man tried to write a hot check, but her husband canceled the account in time.

Cranshaw also told Lucie that she believes convenience stores should have more cameras directed toward the pumps. She said the Racetrac only has one outside.

“I think they need to have an equivalent number of cameras on the pumps as they do inside,” said Cranshaw.

We reached out to Atlanta police to see if they have any good leads in Cranshaw’s case, and we are waiting to hear back.

WSBTV