Family says good Samaritan carjacked

ROSWELL — The family of a 62-year-old woman who was struck with her own vehicle after a man she offered to help stole her car has said she is still in a Texas hospital, a television station reported.

Alyson Lyons was taken to a hospital in El Paso on Tuesday and is receiving treatment for severe road rash, gashes to her head, a fractured wrist and her legs, which were run over by a car, KRQE-TV reported Friday.

Her great-niece Nneka Truex said Lyons paid for a man’s meal at IHOP because he couldn’t cover it and offered to drive him to a truck stop in Roswell around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

On the way, the man pulled a knife on Lyons, attempted to force her out of the vehicle and drove off in her Toyota Corolla, she said.

New Mexico State Police launched a search for the vehicle and an officer attempted a traffic stop after identifying it on U.S. 285 north of Roswell.

Police said the driver — later identified as 22-year-old Mario Caballero — refused to pull over, prompting a high-speed pursuit. Police said the vehicle reached speeds of up to 120 mph.

Caballero was stopped and arrested after police deployed tire-deflation devices, the Roswell Daily Record reported. He surrendered to police without further incident.

Caballero faces multiple charges including possession of stolen vehicles and aggravated fleeing law enforcement officers. He is being held at the Guadalupe County jail.

Caballero’s defense lawyer, Michael Aragon, did not respond to a request by the Associated Press for comment on behalf of his client.