Authorities say the suspects broke into the home Saturday around 4:30 a.m., took a purse with car keys inside, and then drove off in a Jeep and BMW parked in the driveway -- all in a matter of seconds.
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, told Eyewitness News the sound of broken glass and his front door being shattered woke him up. The thieves threw a rock to break the glass.
"I actually thought a tree above us had fallen and came through the skylight in the bathroom," he said.
The thieves took his wife's purse. They ran out and came back a minute later to find two key fobs that they had separated from her one key ring.
"And they came back and stole the key fobs," the homeowner said. "I was on the phone with 911. That's when they came back and I heard my truck start. I ran out of the house to try and stop them."
The homeowner jumped out of the way and was bleeding from hitting the asphalt. He hurt his leg, hip and ankle.
Fair Lawn police Sergeant Eric Eleshewich is warning people not to keep keys or purses by the door.
"This is going on everywhere," said Eleshewich. "This has become an epidemic throughout the state. Fair Lawn is not immune to it."
The homeowner acknowledged he's actually glad the thieves quickly found the purse.
"Otherwise they might have come upstairs, they might've shot us for the keys," he said.
Police say this pattern repeats itself: the car thieves are young, and penalties -- if they are caught -- are less severe.
Also police cannot just go after any speeding car - without knowledge it might be stolen - because that is potentially dangerous to the public.
The homeowner was able to retrieve the Jeep due to a kill switch installed in the car. The thieves hit it by accident and disabled the car at a gas station in Newark.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* More New Jersey news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube