Man pretending to help elderly woman pushes her to the ground before stealing her car, police say

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — A brazen carjacking was caught on video in Washington County.

Police say a man pretended to help an elderly woman with her walker, then pushed her down and stole her car.

“The way he backed out, he almost hit her,” Chris Minerd told Channel 11.

Even after watching the surveillance video of his 80-year-old mother pushed over and left on the side of the street — Minerd is still in disbelief that someone did this to her.

“I said he was lucky my mom wasn’t injured worse, and it didn’t turn out worse,” he said.

The incident happened in front of Liberty Tower in California, Pa.

According to police, James Sickles, who smiled for his mug shot, asked the elderly woman if she needed help getting out of her car, and offered to hold her walker for her.

“He got the walker, and she stood up and started to walk. He just pushed her down,” Minerd said.

He left her in the road without any help, and police say he took off in her car toward Clarksville.

When Mynerd found out his mom was carjacked, he tracked the vehicle on an app.

“I started getting all kind of alerts on my vehicle saying there were things faltering, so I figured he probably wrecked,” Minerd said.

Minerd and police found the car crashed into a guide rail, with Sickles nowhere in sight.

According to detectives, he ran to his stepfather’s home nearby, and told him “I’m going to prison.”

Sickles is now behind bars.

“People today aren’t the same as they were 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. You can’t trust everyone. So, be aware of your surroundings. And be careful of who you talk to sometimes,” Minerd said.

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