A car thief killed an 80-year-old woman after he mowed her down on a busy street in a horrific daylight hit-and-run smash, a court has heard.
Nathanial Teague, 26, ploughed into frail Alice Lucas on a pedestrian crossing at 11.30am on Saturday.
Her frail body was up to four metres in the air and landed on a grass verge around 25 metres from where she was hit.
Callous Teague then sped away leaving Alice critically injured on Coventry Road, Yardley, Birmingham.
The car was later found abandoned three miles away in Solihull, West Mids.
Despite the air ambulance being scrambled the elderly widow died at the scene.
Teague, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on Monday at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
He also admitted the aggravated taking of a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving without a licence and insurance and failing to give the address of the owner of a vehicle.
The road where Alice was mown down was closed for several hours following the smash while medics frantically tried to save her.
Teague handed himself into a police station in Birmingham on Saturday night after police launched a manhunt.
Witnesses spoke of their horror at watching the desperate attempts to revive stricken Alice following the collision.
Marlene Mousley, owner of Central Guest House opposite the crash scene, said: “You could see they were really working hard to save her.
“We were sat here trying to breathe for her.
“It’s the kind of thing that will always stay with you.”
John Page, who runs the nearby Gables Hotel, said: “The emergency services worked on her for a long time. They were excellent but there was obviously nothing they could do.”
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Following the collision, the driver of the blue car failed to stop and a police hunt for the vehicle, and its occupant, was launched.
“Later on Saturday the Vauxhall was found dumped in Olton, Solihull.
“Nathaniel Teague attended a police station in Birmingham that night and was duly arrested on suspicion of causing Mr Lucas’ death.”
Teague was remanded into custody and will return to the city’s crown court for sentencing on March 18.
