By Richard Tribou
Source Orlando Sentinel
A Florida man was arrested after a Chick-fil-A employee tackled him to the ground during a suspected carjacking, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident in Fort Walton Beach in Florida’s panhandle was detailed on the sheriff’s office Facebook page Wednesday that commended the “brave employee” who “rushed to help a screaming woman holding a baby this afternoon after a man grabbed her keys and tried to take her car.”
The sheriff’s office also posted video of the incident to the page.
William Branch, 43, of DeFuniak Springs was charged with carjacking with a weapon and battery, the sheriff’s office stated.
The incident unfolded as the victim was getting her infant out of her car at the restaurant. She told deputies the suspect approached her with a stick and demanded the keys to her car, grabbed the keys from her pants waistband, opened the door and got inside.
That’s when she began screaming for help, which came in the form of a young employee, who was punched by the suspect in the face, although not seriously injured, the sheriff’s office stated.
Deputies said the suspect had been involved in a previous incident before the attempted carjacking.
_______
©2022 Orlando Sentinel.
Visit orlandosentinel.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
