Family pray for car-jacking woman

Caroline Johnson's husband has urged people to come forward

The husband of a woman who was run down by a thief who stole her car said his family is "devastated and in shock".

Lorry driver Mark Collins, 51, said he was praying that his seriously injured wife Caroline Johnson would recover.

Mrs Johnson, 46, was scraping ice from her car in Langley, Slough, when a man jumped in and drove off, dragging her up to 20m (65ft) under the vehicle.

"No-one can believe what's happened," said Mr Collins. "Life's there one minute and then... it's taken away."

Five operations

Mr Collins said the incident had left him and his sons Jason, 13, and 17-year-old David, devastated.

"The whole house is empty without Caroline," he said.

"The dogs are pining for her. Our Jack Russell, Daisy, is waiting for her at the door. I'm not remotely religious but I'm praying."

"The boys are in shock but they are bearing up. They're strong lads."

She wants to live and she's not going to give up Mark Collins

Mrs Johnson was injured as she prepared to take her son to school on Tuesday morning.

She has smashed hips, a four-inch hole in one of her legs, her pelvis and lungs have been crushed and at one point her heart stopped beating.

The mother-of-four, who has two children from a previous relationship, is in a critical but stable condition in Wexham Park Hospital where she faces five operations.

But her husband said he is hopeful she will recover.

"Her head is okay," he said. "We have been communicating with her and she can blink her eyes.

"Caroline's a strong girl. When we were talking to her today she could hear us and we made her laugh.

"She wants to live and she's not going to give up."

'Completely unnecessary'

Mr Collins has made an appeal for help to catch the thief, who abandoned the car nearby in George Green, Buckinghamshire.

"What happened was completely unnecessary and I urge anyone who can help the police catch whoever did this to my wife to come forward," he said.

Detectives are pursuing several lines of inquiry though they believe the thief may be a "local opportunist" because he escaped from the scene on back roads.

A team of 30 officers and six detectives are working on the investigation and they are appealing for witnesses.

The attacker is described as white, in his 30s, with dark brown hair.