Grandmother Fights Back During Carjacking
Victim Threatens Man, Forces Him To Pull Over

POSTED: Monday, December 31, 2007
UPDATED: 7:40 pm EST December 31, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A stop at a Northside convenience store went from ordinary to life-changing in a matter of seconds for one woman and her daughter.

Pat Wells said she was waiting in their running car outside of the store while her daughter was inside. She said she noticed a man panhandling but didn't think anything of it.

"The next thing I knew, he was in my car. He just jumped in," Wells said. "I said, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'I need a ride.' And so he goes for the gear shifter."

Wells' daughter, Tracy Hancock, said she heard the horn honking and went to see what her mother wanted. That's when she found her mother locked in the car.

Hancock said the window of the car was down a crack.

"I tried to stick my hands in. I'm like, 'Oh my god what's going to happen. It could be the last time I ever see her,'" Hancock said.

However, Wells, a grandmother of eight, wasn't giving up easily.

"I said, 'You're not stealing this car,'" Wells said. "More than a minute was me trying to push, him trying to pull, me turning the key off, him turning the key on, and then I started beeping the horn."

Despite the struggle, the thief was able to get the car in gear and take off. Wells said she knew right away she was in for the ride of her life.

"He just floored the gas and went on Dunn Avenue," Wells said.

She said the man was driving dangerously and she refused to just standby.

"I turned the key off, grabbed the wheel and tried to go over the embankment to try to keep him from going on the interstate," Well said.

The man was able keep going until she promised him $40 to stop. Wells said after making that offer she pulled a pen out her purse.

"I said, 'Look, if you do don't stop this car and get out I am going to stab you in the eye with this ink pen and I'm serious,' 'OK.' So, he turned the corner right there at the Kangaroo and he got out," Wells said.

She escaped with some cuts and bruises from the struggle. Both mother and daughter said they learned a very valuable lesson.

"No matter who's in the car, don't leave keys in the car and don’t leave it running because you never know," Wells said.

The man involved in the carjacking was able to escape.

Anyone with information that could help police track down the man involved in this case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.