87 year-old woman run over during armed carjacking in Baltimore County

Fight or flight? You never really know how you might respond to an emergency until you're faced with one.

When Valarie Smith had a man pull a gun on her late last Wednesday night, while she was dropping off groceries for her mother at her home in Pikesville, she surprised herself.

"I was screaming and screaming, and then as he came towards me, I punched him," Smith told WMAR-2 News' Elizabeth Worthington. “I’ve always said to my son, if somebody comes and they want something, especially if they have a weapon, give it to them because it’s not worth your life. I had no idea that would’ve been my reaction."

She was outnumbered; he had two other guys with him trying to steal her car. All three were wearing ski masks and dark clothing.

But like mother, like daughter, 87-year-old Edna wasn't going down without a fight either.

​ "I'm trying to fight off two of them. And I see out of the corner of my eye my mother running. She came down and was getting the person on this side of me," Smith recalled.

During the struggle, the men worked their way inside her car. As Valarie reached in to try and grab her keys from the cup holder, the man in the driver's seat slammed the car door on her hand. She was stuck.

"So when they started driving off, they were dragging me. And I guess my mother was trying to hold me, or she was trying to do something because I didn't realize until they left with the car that they had run over her," Smith said. "Then when I walked back to her, she was lying in a pool of blood."

In hindsight, Valarie doesn't recommend fighting back. The thieves made off with her car, phone, and wallet. Valarie has injuries to her neck, head, and leg. Her mom has a punctured lung, and fractures in both her legs, her pelvis, and her ribs. She's still recovering at Shock Trauma. She had one surgery already and is waiting for a second one.

"But by the grace of God, my mother is still here with me. I'm still here. And I just really hope these young men think again about what happened and the consequences of how it has affected my family. My mother is probably gonna be here for another 2-3 weeks," Smith told WMAR-2 News. "So we are just praying that she will be able to walk again."

The carjacking happened around 10 p.m. Wednesday, August 21 at Brattle and Hawksbury Road in Pikesville. Valarie's car is a 2018 red Acura MDX. If you see anything or know anything about the case, call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020

We asked Baltimore County police for descriptions of the suspects. Here's what they said:

"Detectives are currently pursuing leads. The release said information could potentially jeopardize the integrity of this investigation. If our detectives reach a point in their investigation where releasing specific details surrounding this incident would aid in the successful apprehension of the individuals responsible we will do so."