Woman with heart condition, disc disease battles carjackers
MURRIETA, Calif. -- A California woman with a heart problem and limited mobility became an unlikely hero when she saved an elderly woman from a carjacking, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Maria Metts' degenerative disc and heart diseases typically make it hard for her to walk, she says. But she sprang into action Saturday in the parking lot of a Murietta, Calif., Wal-Mart, when she heard an elderly woman cry out for help.
Metts said she managed to run to the woman, who was being targeted by two alleged carjackers, and emptied a canister of pepper spray toward one of the assailant's face and upper body.
"I sprayed him twice and he ducked down and I ducked down with him," Metts said in an interview with CBS Los Angeles, "He just kept trying to close the door on me, and I kept going, 'Oh no you don't,' and I fought with him."
Metts' daughter, Rachel Buckman, said she saw the end of the struggle.
"I just saw my mom holding the door and spraying -- and I was like, 'Mom, stop! Stop!' I just wanted my mom to get away," Buckman recalled.
During the altercation, Metts lost a ring given to her by her mother before she passed away. She's hoping someone sees it and returns it.
The two suspects, identified as 40-year-old Justin Girard and Brittany Richardson, managed to drive off but were caught a short time later in nearby Oceanside, Calif., according to jail records. They were charged with robbery, carjacking, elder abuse and other counts.
The victim, who did not want to be identified, told CBS Los Angeles that she's very grateful for Metts' bravery. Buckman said she sees her mother in a new light.
"I was just like, 'Wow! Who are you? You've put on a Superman costume and became so powerful,'" Buckman said.