Woman dragged from car and attacked in horrifying Oakleigh assault

A woman has been left too traumatised to go out in public after she was hauled from her luxury vehicle and bashed in a carjacking in Oakleigh which saw bystanders fight off her attacker.

Generic crime: Queensland police crime scene tape. Picture: QPS.

A man is on the run after he dragged a woman from her luxury car and beat her under the cover of darkness in Melbourne’s southeast.

Police believe the offender was waiting in the shadows before he launched his unprovoked attack against the woman as she parked her black Maserati SUV on Atherton Rd in Oakleigh.

The attack, in which the 34-year-old Wheelers Hill woman managed to escape, occurred about 6pm on August 2.

Detective senior constable Steven Kirwan on Friday said police believe the attack was random and cautioned the public not to approach the offender who remains on the run.

Det Kirwan said the man had appeared at the driver’s side door, pulled the woman out of the driver’s seat and senselessly beat and kicked her.

“The male has assaulted the female victim by punching and kicking her,” he said.

“She’s managed to escape and alert some passers-by who have come to her aid.”

Passers-by tried to stop the man from stealing the woman’s car as he was in the driver’s seat.

A struggle ensued but the man was able to get away.

“As they tried to stop him, he assaulted one of those witnesses and fled on foot,” Det Kirwan said.

The woman had been left terrified following the incident in which she suffered cuts to her head and bruising to her body and needed treatment at hospital.

“She’s (now) at home, she’s still extremely traumatised... she’s not wanting to go out in public,” Det Kirwan said.

He said the woman was “extremely lucky” not to have been more seriously hurt.

CCTV release by police on Friday shows the woman running away from her attacker and seeking refuge at a nearby property.

It also shows the man climbing over a fence into the backyard of someone’s home as he fled the scene.

He can be seen looking back over his shoulder as he runs through the backyard and before he jumps over another fence, later caught running down an alleyway towards Atkinson St.

Monash Crime Investigation Unit detectives are searching for a man perceived as being of Middle Eastern appearance and likely in his 40s.

Images released of the suspected attacker show him attempting to let off a fire extinguisher in an incident not connected to the attempted carjacking.

The man was last seen wearing a black coat, dark pants and a black shoes.

Anyone who witnessed the event or has dashcam or CCTV footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.