Sickening CCTV footage released in a Melbourne court has revealed the terrifying moment a grandmother was allegedly run over and dragged during a violent alleged carjacking outside Casey Hospital, where she had rushed her seriously ill husband for emergency treatment.
Mary Iviglia, 66, had returned to the hospital car park after fetching a wheelchair in late April last year when a recently discharged patient allegedly climbed into her brown Ford Territory and attempted to drive away.
Heart-stopping footage shows Ms Iviglia desperately clinging to the open car door, pleading for the man to stop as he accelerated. Moments later, she was dragged alongside the moving vehicle before falling to the ground, where the rear tyre ran over her as she lay face down.
Ms Iviglia was left critically injured.
“The physical injuries you caused me put me in ICU for a week,” she told the accused in court.
She suffered a punctured lung, fractured ribs and eye injuries, and was told she will live with the lifelong risk of her lung collapsing again.
Twenty minutes after the alleged attack, police say the stolen vehicle was driven to a petrol station, where Ms Iviglia’s bank card was used to buy cigarettes and a lighter. The accused then allegedly stopped at a McDonald’s, another McDonald’s, and a community corrections centre in Wonthaggi, before travelling south.
He was eventually arrested by police in Pioneer Bay.
In an emotional statement to the court, Ms Iviglia said the ordeal had permanently altered her life. “My sense of safety has been shattered by these events,” she said.
The magistrate agreed, describing the incident as “every person’s worst nightmare” and noting the victim’s extreme vulnerability at the time.
The court heard the accused was already serving a community corrections order for dangerous driving while being pursued by police when the alleged attack occurred. The case will now proceed to the County Court of Victoria, where it will be heard by a judge.
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