Video captures woman trying to stop suspected purse thief
She’s hurt as she falls off moving Cadillac
A driver leaps on the windshield of a suspected purse thief’s car at a gas station in Dania Beach. But Janelle Irene Della-Libera was thrown off the Cadillac when it turned sharply— and then ran over her ankle.
DANIA BEACH — Janelle Irene Della-Libera was filling up the gas tank on the passenger side of her Volkswagen Tiguan at a Dania Beach Mobil station when she heard the driver’s door of the SUV open and close.
A man was captured on video stealing Della-Libera’s $300 black Kate Spade purse on Saturday afternoon. And within seconds, the 32-year-old Fort Lauderdale woman leaped onto the front windshield of
his Cadillac DeVille sedan.
From her precarious perch, DellaLibera was filmed reaching inside the open door to try to keep him at the station, at 3991 Stirling Rd., the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
The driver made a sharp turn, Della-Libera lost her balance and tumbled head first to the pavement, where the Cadillac ran over her left ankle, according to the video and a deputy’s incident report.
After she caught her breath, DellaLibera seemed to regret her actions.
“He could have killed me,” DellaLibera told WPLG-Ch.10. “What if he had a gun? What if he would have been more vicious? ... The scenario could have played out so much worse.”
The Cadillac’s driver was balding
with a white goatee, and wore long black shorts and a black tank T-shirt.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue paramedics examined Della-Libera at the Mobil station and her husband took her to a hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
“She’s got multiple bruises and lacerations,” said Giovanni Genao, Della-Libera’s spouse. “As you can imagine, she’s sore all over. Her ankle looks like a sprain for the moment, but she has to follow up with an orthopedic doctor.”
Genao said his wife is an event planner for a department store.
“There’s not much event planning you can do on crutches,” Genao said. “We just hope they catch this guy.”
The couple hope their experience shines a light on this type of theft, which is not unusual at South Florida service stations, and that it prompts more prevention efforts by police, Genao said.
Police departments routinely advise drivers to lock their vehicles when getting gas or going inside a business to pay.
“It’s our responsibility to be alert and lock our doors,” Genao said. “But with our car, you can’t unlock the gas door over the cap without unlocking the car.”
Police said the Volkswagen Tiguan is a 2010 model.
“She unlocked the gas door, and failed to re-lock the car,” Genao said. “In hindsight, she wishes she’d done this.”
Della-Libera’s losses amounted to about $2,000, and included the purse, reading glasses and sunglasses; an iPhone 5s with a flowered case; makeup and an external hard drive, the report said.
The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. The organization accepts anonymous tips and will pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.