Carjacker Drags Woman Clinging to Auto Half a Mile

A 36-year-old woman trying to stop a parolee from stealing her car Saturday morning was dragged along the street for about half a mile as she clung to her Ford Victoria, police said.

Stacey Rayburn of Costa Mesa had left the keys in the car as she parked behind a Ralphs supermarket and dug through a dumpster at Brookhurst Street and Hamilton Avenue about 9 a.m. Rayburn had walked about 20 feet from her car when she heard someone start it up, Police Lt. Luis Ochoa said.

“She saw the suspect in the car and ran over to try and stop him,” Ochoa said. “As he took off, she grabbed the car and hung onto the window. He dragged her until she finally fell from the vehicle on Pinetree Lane.”

Stunned onlookers called police as the woman lay injured in the middle of the residential street. She was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange for treatment of numerous cuts and bruises.

Meanwhile, police spotted the car on Bushard Street near Indianapolis Avenue. The suspect led police on a brief chase that reached speeds of 75 mph before finally stopping near Brookhurst and Adams streets, Ochoa said.

Dirk Nicholas Fauria, a 33-year-old transient, was arrested on suspicion of carjacking, evading arrest and violating parole. Police said they did not know why the man was on parole and that no weapon was involved in the incident. Fauria is being held at Huntington Beach City Jail and bail was set at $50,000.

Ochoa described Rayburn as “very lucky.” If someone attempts to steal a car, let them take it, Ochoa said. “Don’t even hesitate. People who take cars are bad people and a lot of times they are armed.”