Orlando Carjacker Drags Owner, Crashes into Church

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on June 25, 2018

Reports from the Orlando Police Department have recently begun to emerge about an incident that happened on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 20th, that ultimately resulted in a collision between a car and a church as well as the hospitalization of one person.

It was close to 5:30 in the afternoon when an unknown individual approached a convenience store parking lot, climbed into a car parked there, and began to drive away. Surveillance footage from the scene shows the person walk through the lot and climb into the car. The footage then shows the car backing out of the parking lot. At the same time, a person wearing a bright yellow vest—like the sort issued to construction workers—runs out of the convenience store after the car. This person then leaps onto the hood of the car and attempts to stop the car from leaving the lot.

Orlando police are treating the incident as a carjacking gone terribly wrong, and it is believed that the person who rushed from the convenience store and leapt onto the hood of the car was the vehicle’s owner.

The would-be carjacker felt that the fight was still undecided, and they continued to drive the vehicle away even as the car’s owner clung to the hood and attempted to make the thief stop. The two made their way about a half-mile from the convenience store’s parking lot before the carjacker, unable to control the car any longer, crashed into the side of the Washington Shores Church of Christ.

At the time of the collision, somewhere around 15 children were outside of the school engaged in a Vacation Bible School activity. It is not believed that any of the children were hurt in any way during the incident, but the car’s owner was flung from the hood and sustained non-lethal injuries as a result.

Emergency medical teams arrived to help the wounded individual and transport them to Orlando Regional Medical Center. It is believed that the majority of the injuries this person suffered were sustained by their feet, and it is not clear if they are currently able to walk or if additional medical care and time are needed before a complete recovery occurs.

Police throughout Orlando and Orange County are still searching for the person behind the carjacking, and they are accepting any help that the civilian public can offer.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.