SUV Gets Rear-Ended And Then Carjacked By The Passenger In The Car That Rear-Ended It

If you're driving and you get rear-ended, here's some advice: turn your car off and take the keys from the ignition before getting out to talk to the opposing driver, lest you fall victim to a theft scheme common enough to have a name: the "bump-and-run." 

A 74-year-old woman learned this the hard way last week in South Ozone Park, Queens, when she was hit from behind by a driver who then became aggressive when she got out to exchange information.

CBS New York describes what happened next:

That's when police said another woman, who was a passenger inside the white car, got out and walked around to the driver's seat of the car. The man then shoved the victim aside and jumped into her SUV and both suspects drive off in both vehicles, police said.

Police said the next day they were able to track down the victim's vehicle in Queens, but are still looking for the suspects, CBS2's Reena Roy reported.

Surveillance video caught both the original collision and the theft. (The victim is blurred out in the video.)

This is apparently an increasingly common car theft strategy, at least in some cities. According to DNAInfo, Chicago was hit with at least nine such incidents this summer. It certainly seems like a quicker and easier method than the time-honored approach of breaking someone's window, and plus, it's hard to hot-wire most modern cars.

Be safe out there.