By Bynaheed Rajwani
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — A Dallas mother who unwittingly became the star of a high-speed chase this week said she’s dumbfounded by all the attention she’s received.
But a day after the crash and scuffle with a carjacking suspect that fueled her fame, Jessica Liesmann said she’s glad fate placed her minivan in Artrai Alexander’s path.
“I believe [God] makes everything happen for a reason,” Liesmann, 29, said Thursday. “I’m assuming the reason was to run him into the right person who would stop him from causing more damage.”
Alexander, 40, is being held in the Dallas County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and evading arrest. He told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that he does not take responsibility for the carjacking or chase, saying he fled because he was “spooked” by the police.
He did, however, offer an apology to those he hit in the high-speed chase.
“I apologize to them,” he told NBC5 from jail. “I apologize to them for this whole incident, I apologize and hope J.T. [sic] be OK and the other people that were injured as well.”
Police said Alexander stole a Dodge Challenger reportedly left idling Wednesday afternoon outside a convenience store in the 3000 block of Grand Avenue, near Fair Park. When the owner approached, Alexander pointed a gun at him and fled, authorities say.
Police gave chase, and the pursuit ended at Abrams Road and Walnut Hill Lane, where Alexander crashed into Liesmann’s minivan and a black sport utility vehicle.
Liesmann immediately turned around to ask her 13-year-old son, T.J., if he was OK. She jumped out of her car, her boyfriend trailing behind, and started yelling at Alexander for speeding in a school zone.
Liesmann and her boyfriend yanked Alexander out of his car and body-slammed him on the pavement as TV cameras rolled.
Police officers streamed into the area and took Alexander into custody.
Fear Equaled Rage
The rage Liesmann exhibited Wednesday came from a place of fear, she said. Her 4-year-old son died last year because of a health condition, and she wasn’t ready to lose another son. Liesmann also has a 6-year-old daughter.
“Everything happened too quickly,” she recalled. “I was in a rage, just thinking he was going to pay for what he did.”
But she didn’t realize the smackdown had become a social media sensation until T.J. spotted her on TV later that afternoon. They were sitting in the emergency room at Medical City Dallas Hospital when her son looked up and exclaimed, “Mom, you’re on TV!”
“My mouth fell open,” Liesmann recalled Thursday. “All I could do is grab my face. It was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
The next morning, a handful of TV crews showed up at Liesmann’s door, asking for interviews. She normally drops her two kids off at school before work at an Arby’s restaurant -- but Thursday was anything but normal.
Her phone rang incessantly. Texts. Phone calls. Voice mails.
“I don’t know how to take this,” she said. “I don’t know how to take a car accident turning into something like this.”
The unexpected publicity has had its perks, too.
Thursday afternoon, Southwest Kia in Mesquite gave Liesmann a new 2015 Kia Sedona. Her old car, a 2005 Nissan Quest, was badly damaged in the crash.
News of Liesmann’s bold move made it to James Seale of Southwest Kia via “Big Al” Mack of the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show.
“I felt sorry for her because of what has happened to her family,” said Seale, the dealership’s general manager. “I want something good to happen for her.”
Mack said he was inspired to help after watching video of the chase.
“The whole story is just an amazing story,” Mack said. “It was like a combination of the two polar opposites in the video. You have a woman over here beat the guy up, and then you have a woman over here hugging her child like it’s the last time she’ll ever hug her child.
So you have those two polar opposites and it brought the whole thing together.”
Not Advised
Some might say she’s fortunate she wasn’t hurt. A handgun was recovered from the stolen vehicle, and police have made it clear they don’t encourage Liesmann’s behavior.
“Thankful that the citizens who held the chase suspect weren’t injured by him,” Maj. Max Geron of the Dallas Police Department tweeted soon after the incident. “Would never advise you do that.”
Liesmann said she, too, is grateful her boyfriend and her son weren’t injured — and that Alexander was apprehended before he could cause more damage.
“It actually turned out to be a happy ending for this story, thank God,” she said.
And what does she think about the “Mama Bear” nickname?
“I’ve always felt that way anyway. I’ve always been protective of my kids,” she said.
Liesmann plans to return to work Friday, hoping the fame will simmer down so she can move on with her life -- and her new car.
“My kids are going to freak out when I drive up in this car,” she said.
Copyright 2015 The Dallas Morning News