Man charged after woman struck by car thief outside Melbourne hospital

A man has been charged after a 66-year-old woman was struck with her own vehicle outside a hospital in Melbourne’s south-east.

The woman, from Upper Beaconsfield, was dropping her husband off at Casey Hospital’s emergency department in Berwick about 10.45am on Wednesday.

A man, who had allegedly just left the hospital and was sitting on a bench, jumped into their car.

The woman, who was walking to the hospital entrance with her husband, saw the man driving their car away and was trying to stop him when he hit her with the vehicle, police said.

Paramedics transferred her from Casey Hospital to The Alfred in a critical condition.

She was in a serious but stable condition as of Wednesday evening.

Police later arrested a 25-year-old man, of no fixed address, at Pioneer Bay on the Bass Coast.

He was charged with several offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving causing serious injury, unlicensed driving and failing to render assistance.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Dandenong Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.