Two men accosted the 69-year-old woman and her husband close to the Barnes & Noble bookstore at the mall, authorities said. Shots were fired, but police said no one was struck by bullets.
The couple had been walking at Fashion Island when they were approached by the two men, who attempted to rob them, according to Sgt. Steven Oberon of the Newport Beach Police Department.
A struggle ensued, and the woman was dragged into a parking lot and subsequently run over by the suspects’ white Toyota Camry. Oberon said the woman’s husband was believed to be uninjured.
The victims were not immediately identified.
Police pursued the suspects after the incident, a chase that took them into Los Angeles County. Authorities reported that the Camry reached speeds of up to 110 mph as it sped north. A television news helicopter captured video of the car speeding into the left shoulder of the 105 Freeway and at one point grazing the concrete center median.
During the pursuit, the getaway driver allegedly let at least one accomplice out before he and another man sped on. The pair eventually jumped out of the car in South Gate, fleeing on foot around Harding and Hoover avenues, according to police and video of the chase shown on multiple local TV news stations.
