An elderly woman could do nothing but stare in disbelief after a man stole her car right in front of her – and the brazen act was caught on camera.
Shocking dash cam footage captured the moment the man drove off in a white van parked outside a shopping center on Wharf Street, Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales, on Wednesday around 3.30pm.
Video uploaded to the Dash Cam Owners Australia Facebook page showed the moment the thief took off in the vehicle.
Moments earlier, a man is understood to have tricked the elderly owner of the SUV into believing the vehicle had a flat tyre.
The man got into the vehicle and appeared to close the doors from the inside while pretending to help the woman.
In the images you can see several nearby passers-by approaching the vehicle to help the elderly woman.
A bearded man attempted to open the door only to discover it was locked, and the motorist in the vehicle who recorded the dash cam footage was attempting to block the van from behind.
An elderly woman watched in disbelief as her car was allegedly stolen right in front of her (pictured) after a thief pretended to help her change a flat tyre.
The elderly woman was visibly distressed when three passers-by tried to intervene and were seen trying to speak to the driver.
As a man in a yellow high-visibility T-shirt rushed to get help, the thief turned the car to the right into the parking lane and sped off.
The old woman put her hands on her head and bowed in disbelief as the driver fled in his car.
Several minutes earlier, the man who had allegedly stolen the truck was captured on dash camera footage walking down the path in front of the parked car.
He was seen wearing a baseball cap, a printed shirt, shorts and was carrying a can of soda.
Hundreds of users commented on the Facebook post, including the elderly woman’s daughter, Natalie Sajo, who praised the men who tried to help the elderly woman.
‘This was my mom, is there anyone here who helped her? I’d like to thank you!’ Natalia wrote.
‘Congratulations to the guys who tried to help this lady, we need more like you!’ said another user.
“I hope he’s okay, it’s horrible that that happens to him.”
The man who allegedly stole the vehicle (pictured) was seen walking nearby moments earlier wearing a baseball cap and carrying a can of soda.
A New South Wales Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that officers are investigating the incident.
“Police have been informed that when a 73-year-old woman returned to her parked vehicle and opened it, an unidentified man allegedly entered the same vehicle, closed the doors and drove away from the scene,” the spokesperson said.
Anyone with information about the incident has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.