Grandfather aged 78 is carjacked ... then run over
BATTERED and bloodied in his hospital bed, this is grandfather Reginald Stocking after being knocked down by a carjacker outside his home.
The 78-year-old had just driven wife Sylvia, 80, home from bingo when the thief struck as he got out of the vehicle to park it.
The retired security guard suffered two shattered eye sockets, a chipped skull, a bleed on the brain and a broken nose when he was run over by his own car on Sunday night.
Yesterday, as he remained dazed and in pain in hospital, his son spoke of having only ‘actions, not words’ for the man responsible. Police believe
‘Whoever did this must be caught’
the carjacker had been lying in wait for the couple to return to their home in West Bromwich, where they have lived for 30 years, from their regular Sunday trip to the bingo.
Mr Stocking was attacked after dropping his wife of 57 years at the front of the house and driving around to a parking area at the rear. As he opened a gate, a man leapt into his Peugeot 207 – which is valued at £2,500 – and drove off.
Detectives say Mr Stocking was thrown against a wall by the force of the collision, apparently after attempting to stop the thief.
The Stockings’ son, David, 47, said: ‘Mum phoned me as soon as it happened and I drove round and saw Dad lying in the road lifeless. I don’t think I’d have words for who did this – it’d just be actions.’
Mr Stocking said his father, who was taken to Sandwell Hospital after the incident, may have suffered ‘lifechanging’ injuries.
‘Dad can’t remember a thing,’ he said. ‘He’s just spending his time sleeping and is hooked up on medication to ease the pain. Doctors haven’t said when he will be able to leave hospital yet. He just keeps asking where his car is.
‘It’s all so shocking. He had lived a blameless life and some scumbag comes along and does this. Whoever did this must be caught.’
A police spokesman yesterday urged residents to check their street in case the couple’s Peugeot had been abandoned.