Elderly woman taken to hospital after alleged hit and run and carjacking linked to Albany crime spree

A man has been arrested by police after an alleged carjacking in Orana which came to a dramatic end when the same car crashed through a fence and into a tree outside a Mira Mar home. Police say an Albany man is in custody after he dragged an elderly woman from her red Hyundai sedan and allegedly stole the vehicle on Thursday afternoon. The woman in her seventies was hit by the vehicle on Albany Highway near Abercorn Street at about 2pm. There were reports of the same car driving erratically near the roundabout at the intersection of Chester Pass Road and Albany Highway and then in a carpark near Dominos. The sedan crashed through a fence and into the front yard of a home on Collingwood Road at about 2:15pm. Firefighters arrived on the scene just before 2:30pm stopping smoke that was billowing from the vehicle at risk of catching fire. Police said the man fled the scene on foot but was spotted and followed by a number of witnesses, including an off-duty officer. He was arrested by police and taken to Albany Health Campus for treatment of his injuries. “The main thing is we have a male person in custody,” Albany officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Hugh Letessier said. “He had some injuries from the crash and was taken under arrest to Albany Health Campus and will then be interviewed in relation to these incidents.” Sen. Sgt Letessier said the woman was “forcibly” pulled from her vehicle. It came just minutes after the same offender allegedly attempted to steal a vehicle in the carpark of South Regional TAFE Albany Campus but fled when challenged by a number of males. The elderly woman was rushed to Albany Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, a St John WA spokesperson said. Albany detectives arrived at the scene on Albany Highway and took statements from several witnesses and police also spoke to witnesses of the crash on Collingwood Road with investigations continuing.