On Monday, a 73-year-old grandmother had her arm severed and later died after being dragged down the street as four teenagers carjacked her car and she was trapped outside the vehicle with her arm caught by the seatbelt.
“Locals said the teens did momentarily stop the vehicle to open the door to kick her out, but failed to make sure she safely exited the vehicle,” The Daily Mail reported. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson stated of Linda Frickey, 73, “Her arm was severed from her body.”
One witness told Fox 8, “It was dragging a lady by the seatbelt outside the car. The door had closed on the seatbelt, and she was stuck in it…I got out of my vehicle screaming, ‘Please stop,’ … other neighbors were also screaming.”
A neighbor in the area said she ran to get a sheet to cover Frickey. She recalled, “She was screaming, and she was screaming to please let her go and then they slowed down and opened the door to kick her out and they made the corner by Rouses. As soon as I saw her, I screamed. I just started running for her I thought if I could somehow, I don’t know what I could do, but I thought if I could dislodge her from this car … when I looked down her body was already there, and her arm was … It’s just not something you expect to see.”
The neighbor’s husband, who sat next to Frickey as the neighbor prayed the ambulance would get there quickly added, “I was angry, I was telling her to hang in there because every time I heard a siren I was hoping and praying it was the ambulance. I kept telling her to hang in there, breathing, her eyes were moving. I’ve never seen something so horrific.”
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell stated, “Yesterday our city witnessed a shocking and horrific act of violence. It was startling beyond belief, and I absolutely condemn this senseless and unimaginable tragedy in the strongest possible way. I send my heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim, and my gratitude to the NOPD and Chief Shaun Ferguson for the quick and efficient work in apprehending the four suspects in less than 24 hours. I thank them for their diligence and professionalism in making our City safer. But it does not end with our police force. It takes all of us coming together to address the issues we face, and I am confident that by working together, we can make New Orleans a safer and prosperous city for all of us.”
On Tuesday morning the New Orleans police department announced that the four teenagers had been arrested.
Frickey’s sister Jinnylynn Griffin wrote on Facebook: “This senseless act affected our family. We lost a loving sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and friend. RIP my beautiful sister Linda Frickey, you will forever be missed.”