Elderly couple injured in bid to stop Wednesbury car thief
A car thief has been jailed for seven years for stealing an elderly couple's car and injuring them both as they tried to stop him making his getaway.
Dean Salter took the car in an opportunistic robbery after seeing its door was open while an elderly woman helped her husband cross the road in Wednesbury town centre.
He laughed as he pushed the woman out of the way as she tried to haul him out of the car, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Salter, of Hawkestone Crescent, West Bromwich, had dozens of previous convictions. The court was told how 31-year-old Salter had left Ladbrokes in Market Place and was walking down the street on December 23 last year when he noticed the couple's car door open with the keys in the ignition.
It had been vacated when the woman – a Mrs Price – briefly left the car to help her husband, who had difficulty in walking, leave the Pig & Trumpet pub, also in Market Place. Prosecutor Jonathan Cox said Salter immediately jumped in, but struggled to start the automatic car.
He added: "Mrs Price ran to the open door, grabbed the steering wheel and the defendant's collar. He elbowed her to her left bicep and laughed at her while he did it. She stumbled backwards. As the vehicle moved it caught Mrs Price and knocked her into her husband and they both fell to the floor."
Mrs Price suffered a fractured wrist and other hand injuries which have since prevented her from wearing her wedding ring, while her husband suffered bruising and swelling to his legs and lower back and had an angina attack.
Salter, who had 41 previous convictions for 142 offences including theft, burglary and dishonesty, was recognised from CCTV images. He had pleaded guilty on the day of his trial to robbery and dangerous driving.
Mr William Dudley, defending, said: "This was not a car-jacking – this was an opportunistic theft that went very wrong.
"It was the act of taking the car that caused the injuries. The car was targeted – not the vulnerable victim."
Judge Michael Dudley told him: "This crime was far far more serious than anything in your record. I accept it was opportunistic.
"When she tried to stop you, you continued to drive off, effectively using your car as a weapon. This is a really serious robbery."
