A 32-year-old woman was fatally injured Wednesday when a suspected robbery crew tried to steal her purse in Garden Grove and wound up running over her with a vehicle, police said.
The woman was walking with her sister in a parking lot at 13800 Brookhurst Blvd. about 9:45 a.m. when a car pulled alongside them and a suspect tried to wrestle away the victim’s purse, according to Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney.
“At some point during the struggle, the female victim was run over by the suspect vehicle,” Whitney said.
Paramedics stabilized the woman and rushed her to an area hospital, where she died Wednesday afternoon, Whitney said. Her name was not immediately released.
The suspects were under surveillance at the time by Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives, who gave chase and called Garden Grove police for help, Whitney said. The detectives had earlier informed Garden Grove police that they were conducting surveillance and asked officers to avoid the area, the lieutenant said.
The sheriff’s detectives pursued the suspects to the area of the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway and Century Boulevard in South Los Angeles, where the three suspects jumped out and tried to flee on foot, but were quickly apprehended, Whitney said.
Detectives recovered some evidence at the scene, he said.
During the pursuit, the suspects appeared to throw evidence onto the Garden Grove (22) Freeway, so police briefly closed the roadway to conduct a search, Whitney said.
Police will pick up the suspects from Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators and take the trio to the Orange County Jail, Whitney said. Their names were not immediately released.