JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. — There’s been two arrests in a brutal carjacking that left a 70-year-old woman in need of stitches in her head.
Tuesday, Jeffersontown Police told WHAS11 that a 14 and 16 year old have been arrested.
The carjacking happened on Friday, Dec. 9 around 9:30 p.m. at the Jeffersontown McDonald's located on Ruckriegel Parkway.
The victim, Karen Graham, is recovering, but she's still mentally scarred. She said she wants to see justice for the crime, and said young kids need more guidance in order to stop this pattern of violence.
"I don't even want to go out if it's dark outside at all,” Graham said. “I just could not believe it just happened. When I went to the ground, I was immediately, was just screaming for help.”
Graham was delivering for DoorDash for the very first time on the night on the attack. When she pulled into the McDonald's parking lot, she noticed the two teenagers hanging out, but paid it no mind.
However, when she returned to her car, they asked to see her phone.
“I said, ‘I'm sorry, I've got a milk shake in this bag, I need to get going,’” Graham recalled.
She said they then attacked her.
“And yanked my lanyard right off of my neck, threw me to the concrete and stole my purse, which was in my Jeep and stole it and crashed into the person in the drive-thru behind me, and then ran over my feet as he was leaving,” she said.
The attack left her with stitches, staples, a busted elbow, torn tendon and injured hip.
Less than two weeks later, Jeffersontown Police have arrested the suspects. Graham was excited about the news, until she realized how close it hit to home.
“I was so elated. I wanted to cry,” she said. “But then when I found out they lived in my apartment complex, that just threw me way back. I was in shock.”
Jeffersontown Police Detective Mike Lauder said the city doesn't see as many carjackings as Louisville, but it's important to be on alert.
“Unfortunately, the world we live in today, you just always got to have your guard up,” he said.
That also means not leaving your car running, even in the cold weather expected this week.
Though the crime was brutal, Lauder said he hopes people don't become fearful.
“Jeffersontown is a very safe place to be,” he said. “You know, so we don't want anybody to feel like it's not safe.”
Graham said it'll take some time for her to feel safe. She said she doesn’t want to leave her home at night. However, she's grateful for the people who came to her rescue.
“I just want to tell them that I love them, and I appreciate them more than they could ever know,” Graham said.
Lauder said there have been nine reported carjackings in Jeffersontown this year, some of which were attempts only.
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