Woman robbed in Hempstead parking lot

Police are searching for a man who attacked a woman in a Hempstead parking lot Wednesday afternoon, striking her in the head with a weighted sock before stealing her pocketbook -- and fleeing the scene.

The woman was treated at a hospital for contusions to her head, arms and legs, Nassau County police said.

The robbery occurred at about 4:30 p.m. in a lot near the intersection of Fulton Avenue and Main Street, police said.

Police said the woman, identified only as being 31 years old, was in the parking lot when the robber, described as being about 5-foot-6 and in his 40s with a goatee and wearing blue jeans, a dark shirt and a dark, hooded sweatshirt, struck her "several times in the head" with a weight wrapped in a sock. The man stole the victim's pocketbook containing an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a white Nissan Altima, according to police.

Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.