Seattle grandmother jumps on hood of her vehicle to try to stop carjacker; suspect caught

SEATTLE -- She was less than two miles from her home when the attack happened.

Friends identify her as Donna Crews -- a Seattle grandmother and all-around determined woman.

Witnesses say it was that determination at play just after 3 p.m. Monday when a man approached her car in the 4400 block of Woodland Park in the Fremont neighborhood and then tried to take it and drive away.

"She was already yelling for help, turned around and she was on the hood of the car screaming for help, hanging on to the windshield wipers,” witness Clark Morgan said.

The thief eventually jolted Crews from the hood of the car and took off.

"I wasn't surprised at all," said Crews' friend Jennifer Kakutani. "If something that she loves is there, she will do anything for it -- and her phone and her purse and all of her belongings were in that car and she was not going to do anything to let it go.”



After the carjacking, the thief didn't get far.

He allegedly led police on a car chase that ended at the corner of North 68th street and Dayton Avenue North in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood.

"First there was the suspect car, then there were two police cars following, and then a short time later there were two or three others,” witness Brent LaMotte said.

Police say carjackings can happen at any time and any of us could be a victim and it tends to happen close to home, primarily because as we get closer to home we tend to get comfortable and let our guard down.

"In fact, most carjackings happen five miles from a person's home."  Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound Executive Director Myrle Carner said.

Still, Carner says there are ways to protect yourself.

"Use your head. Be aware what's going, check your surroundings and when you hear about carjackings be even more careful,” Carner said.

Friends say Crews broke one of her knees and has some cuts and bruises but the good news is that she's going to be OK.

"I'm just so glad she's OK, and I look up to her,” Kakutani said.

The suspect was arrested and could be in court as early as Tuesday.