Robber riding BMX bike steals purse; woman knocked unconscious

A 55-year-old Glendale woman sustained minor injuries Wednesday when, as a cyclist attempted to steal her purse, she held on to it and hit her head on the ground, police said.

The woman suffered a bruise on the back of her head and a scratch to her left knee, but she refused to be taken to a hospital, Glendale police said.

She was walking about 6 p.m. in the 200 block of East Chevy Chase Drive when she saw a man on a black BMX bicycle approaching her, police said.

When the woman continued walking, she suddenly felt someone tugging her purse and pulling her hair.

As she began falling backward, she allegedly saw the cyclist trying to steal her purse.

Once the woman’s head hit the ground, she lost consciousness. Moments later, she awoke still grasping her purse.

A passerby saw the woman on the ground and followed the cyclist but eventually lost him.

The cyclist was described as a Latino, 18 to 20 years old, tall and skinny. He was wearing a black hooded-sweatshirt and pants. His bicycle was described as a black BMX with a green reflector on the rear.

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News