Her husband said he pulled over and tried to cut the burglar off and grabbed him through his truck window but the offender managed to break away and run to his vehicle parked further up the road.
However the intruder hadn't managed to shut his door in time so the man made another attempt to grab him and they ended up struggling inside the car.
"He then hit the gas pedal and the car shot around with me holding on to the side of the door, and I was spun around and landed heavily on to the road. I think I might have been knocked out for a bit," he said.
The burglar then ran over his foot and hand before taking off.
The man has had a CT scan of his head and is now nursing cuts and bruises to several parts of his body, including his head, right hand, knees, hip, right ankle and back.
But he counts himself lucky to be alive. "Thankfully nothing is broken ... I was determined this guy wasn't going to get away with it."
Resident Barbara Wallace said she was sitting outside having a drink with her daughter when they saw the struggle unfold. "The victim was still hanging on to the man through the car door as the driver was trying to get away, and then I saw the man's legs and his body fly up into the air, before landing on the road."
The driver then took off quite fast, she said.
Another eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "He's definitely a lucky man, as if he [the fleeing driver] had hit him right, this fella would be lying there dead."
Police were called and have recovered property that the burglar dumped as he ran and a pile of items stacked in a backyard nearby ready for collection.
-A 30-year-old man is facing three charges, including burglary, and is due to appear in Tauranga District Court on Thursday.
