A woman in Kansas City, Missouri was nearly run over by the carjacker who stole her vehicle, narrowly avoiding being struck by her own car as the thief sped away from the scene. The incident, which compounded the trauma and loss of the carjacking with the immediate physical danger of being struck by the fleeing vehicle, illustrates the violent and chaotic nature of carjackings that distinguishes them from other forms of vehicle theft. The woman escaped serious physical injury but was left to process both the loss of her vehicle and the terrifying near-miss that accompanied it.
Carjackings are inherently more dangerous than other vehicle thefts because they involve direct confrontation between the perpetrator and the victim, often with weapons present and always with the potential for violence. The added danger of the victim being struck by the fleeing vehicle, as nearly happened in this Kansas City case, represents one of the many ways that carjackings can escalate from property crime to serious physical harm. Law enforcement officials advise carjacking victims to prioritize their physical safety above the vehicle, complying with demands and moving away from the vehicle rather than attempting to prevent the theft, precisely because of incidents like this one where the danger to the victim continues even as the thief departs.