When an Atlanta school cafeteria worker saw four men trying to steal the purse from her parked car, she tried to stop them.
She wound up taking the ride of her life — and it nearly cost her life.
Marshae Wilson said she was dragged along the road while hanging out the window of the robbers’ getaway car, clutching the straps of her bag as one of the suspects tried to yank it away. She told police she finally let go and fell to the ground after one of them pulled out a silver and black handgun and shot at her.
Wilson, who was found lying on the pavement at Boyd Elementary School and crying after the incident on Sept. 11, was treated and released at the scene for “road rash” injuries to an arm and a leg, according to the police incident report. The robbers got away, although police said they will examine skin tissue from under Wilson’s nails that may have come from one of the suspects. They also are looking at security video.
The robbery happened around 2:30 p.m. as Wilson left the school and headed toward her 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix in the parking lot. That’s when she noticed four men inside her car, she said. She yelled at them as they got out of the Grand Prix and saw that one had her purse in his hand. She grabbed for the straps as they got into a tan Honda Accord that was parked next to her car.
As they fought for the bag, the Accord took off with Wilson hanging from the window as the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot and onto Perry Boulevard. Wilson held on, she said, until one of the men pointed a gun at her and fired.
Atlanta Public Schools spokeswoman Kimberly Willis Green said the schools’ security department is working with Atlanta police, “to investigate and curtail these incidents on our campuses and school sites.”
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