Woman, 73, severs arm during fatal carjacking in New Orleans

Four teenagers dragged an elderly woman to her death until her arm was severed from her body during a carjacking in New Orleans on Monday afternoon.

CCTV footage captured the suspects walking on the roadside before they allegedly pushed the victim out of her 2021 Nissan Kicks. Eyewitnesses recalled the harrowing ordeal she went through as she got entangled in her seatbelt and dragged across the road as the thieves sped away with her vehicle. It is said her arm eventually got severed from her body from the brunt force.

"It was one of the most grotesque, surreal, horrific things I've ever seen. Complete reckless abandonment, no regard for human life," one of the eyewitnesses, Todd Ecker told WWL TV.

Austin Northcott said he first heard screaming and likened the sound to someone about to die. That scream came from 73-year-old mother, wife, and grandmother Linda Frickey, as she was dragged to her death moments after a vehicle pulled up next to her parked SUV in the 300 block of N. Scott Street.

The thieves sped off on Bienville Avenue where homeowners Mark and Leanne Mascar heard her screams as well. "I just started screaming and running because I just wanted to get this person from this car and if I could do that, I can help this person," Leanne said.

Police said Frickey was only able to get away after her arm got detached from her body more than a block away on N. Pierce Street. Neighbours immediately ran over to help and noticed she was still breathing albeit very slowly.

Ecker said he tried to call 911 but could not get through after over four minutes of calling. Someone eventually got through but it was too late when paramedics arrived 15 minutes later because the victim eventually dead.

Police were able to track Frickey's SUV parked 15 blocks away on the corner of Dumaine and N. Dupre in the Bayou St. John neighbourhood. Authorities also released CCTV footage of the suspects late Monday night. They were eventually arrested after the parents of two of the teens called investigators to turn them in. The suspects, a 17-year-old male, a 16-year-old female, and two 15-year-old females face charges of second-degree murder.