The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy escaped serious injury when he was hit by a car driven by a fleeing shoplifter.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said the deputy was working a uniformed off-duty job at Eastland Mall Saturday night when a 911 call came in regarding a shoplifter.
The deputy spotted the suspect vehicle driving without headlights and tried to stop it in the parking lot of the nearby Wendy’s.
The release said the car initially stopped but then took off and drove over a curb.
The deputy approached the open window of the car and began shouting commands to the driver.
The deputy attempted to remove the key from the ignition, but the suspect put the car in reverse and accelerated, dragging the deputy with the vehicle.
He was thrown onto the vehicle’s hood and then onto the pavement next to the front left tire of the vehicle which ran over the deputy’s foot.
The car then hit the deputy’s car and another parked car, before officers took the suspect, 58-year-old Marilyn Elaine Cosby, into custody.
Cosby faces multiple charges.
The deputy was treated and released from St. Vincent Hospital.
He was wearing safety toe boots, which the sheriff’s office said prevented a serious foot injury.