HEADLINE

Saints/Pelicans owner unhurt after attempted car theft

Field Level Media

October 16, 2020 at 6:48 pm.

Gayle Benson, owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, was not injured during an attempted car theft last weekend.

New Orleans police did not identify Benson by name, but Saints and Pelicans spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed the story reported by NOLA.com on Friday.

Benson was inside her vehicle in the city’s Uptown neighborhood at about 2:15 p.m. ET on Saturday when a man got inside and attempted to steal the car. He abandoned the plan after Benson screamed for him to get out, according to the report.

“While she was very shaken at the time, she was unharmed and is doing fine,” Bensel said. “She wanted to send her sincere gratitude to the men and women of the New Orleans Police Department that responded so quickly and professionally. We cannot comment further as this is an active investigation.”

Investigators are searching for a suspect who fled the scene in a white Nissan Titan, according to police.

Police told NOLA.com that the incident is not classified as an attempted carjacking because there’s no evidence the man realized Benson was inside the vehicle. Police did not say where she was sitting in the car.

Benson, 73, became principal owner of the Saints and Pelicans following the death of her husband, Tom Benson, in 2018.