A coat laid down by a good samaritan to help a woman seriously injured in the Braintree runaway car accident has been stolen.
Police said they could not believe any criminal would stoop to such depths.
The denim jacket, containing cash, was laid on top of a 51-year-old woman after she was rescued from under the wheels of a silver Ford Galaxy by passers-by
The driverless vehicle had rolled backwards down Bank Street at 1pm on Wednesday, hitting three people.
The woman was trapped underneath the vehicle and released by members of the public.
Once free, a 60-year-old IT consultant from Braintree used his jacket to cover her before emergency services arrived at the scene.
During the chaos, the good samaritan's jacket was stolen, along with a wallet inside containing £75 and credit cards.
A police spokesman said: "This is an extremely callous act by an uncaring person towards a member of the public who was giving assistance to a victim of a road traffic accident.
"We would like to hear from anybody who may have suspicions as to who carried out this act."
The woman was airlifted to Colchester General Hospital with chest injuries. Her condition was today critical but stable.
The jacket was green grey denim, with white collars. Anyone with information on the theft is asked to call Braintree police on 01376 551312.
Witnesses to the accident can call PC Jeff Moy at Bocking traffic police on 01376 330722
Published Friday, June 13, 2003
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