SAN ANTONIO — A 72-year-old grandmother is recovering after she was assaulted during a carjacking at a San Antonio gas station, authorities said.
Shirlene Hernandez was attacked Tuesday at a Shell station, WOAI-TV reported. The assailant grabbed Hernandez as she walked into the convenience store, hitting her several times in the face as he reached for her keys, according to the television station.
“I can see that man in detail,” Hernandez told WOAI. “I have a picture in my mind of him that just doesn’t go away.”
72-year-old grandmother Shirlene Hernandez was beat up and carjacked earlier this week; the carjacker totaled her car and she's looking for a new one to get to and from work; if you'd like to help you can donate here: https://t.co/aKOkehLKIL @KABBFOX29 @News4SA
— Robyn Oguinye (@RobynOguinye) April 16, 2022
The man managed to elude three men who tried to tackle him before he sped away in Hernandez’s vehicle.
Police were able to track down Hernandez’s vehicle on Interstate 35 but it was totaled. The man was dead, police said.
“There’s a lot of people who would say what goes around comes around, karma,” Hernandez told WOAI. “I did not think that. I got really sad because he had died. Now, granted he had hurt me, but the Lord saw fit to take him out of his misery.”
Hernandez said she was still sore, but what really hurt was that she had lost her wheels. She drives daily to work.
“I realized I don’t have a car,” she told the television station. “I just don’t want to quit working and so I’ve got to somehow get another car and that takes money and stuff.
“I’ve got to figure out what to do.”
Hernandez said she hopes people learn that crime does not pay, adding that the kindness of strangers who tried to stop the thief was gratifying.
“I just hope that if this situation happens to anybody else, that somebody will step forward, leap forward, run forward, whatever and help the person that it’s happening to,” she told WOAI.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Hernandez buy a new car. As of Saturday afternoon, more than $8,200 had been pledged.
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