Police: Santa Ana woman dragged over 100 feet by purse thief's SUV; suspect faces attempted murder

(FOX 11) - WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO:

A woman in the path of a suspected purse thief is dragged more than 100 feet while trapped underneath the suspect's SUV. The entire shocking event is caught on camera.

That suspect is facing many charges, including attempted murder. Family members say his actions were triggered by him allegedly stealing a purse. They say he came back to the quiet industrial Santa Ana Street where their family business is located

"I happened to look out the window and saw him drive by - so I called 911 got on the phone with them to let them know he was back," said Alicia.

Monday morning, Chelsea's other sibling Alicia used her car to block the SUV of the man police identified as Arturo Suarez.

When he came out of another business, Chelsea's co-worker Keith confronted him

"He got real nervous and said I don't know what you're talking about I gotta leave," said Keith Fujimoto, the co-worker former fire chief.

He got back in his SUV. But Chelsea was in his path

"...by the time she realized he wasn't going to stop - she tried to move out of the way but she said she couldn't. He hit her and dragged her a 130 feet," said Alicia.

Alicia and Keith ran toward Chelsea.

"By the time we got to my sister she was curled up in a ball and she was seizing," said Alicia.

Keith - a former fire captain - jumped into action - not knowing if she would make it.

The first thing that went through my mind was what am I going to tell the family if in fact she passes," said Fujimoto.

Andrew says while they help Chelsea fight to a full recovery, they're also battling to make sure this never happens again

"Hearing her wake up with night terrors screaming, it's been really hard," said Andrew.

Police say the suspect has a long criminal history, he was a parole at large.

Police think that's why he took off.

They will submit the case to the DA and will determine if it was a intention act.