A mother and daughter say they feel lucky to be alive after a man attempted to carjack them in Metairie last week.
Julie Pursell and her daughter Megan Stewart told WWL-TV it happened on Dreyfous St. near W. Esplanade. A man claiming his mother had just died jumped into their car, climbing on top of Pursell who was in the driver's seat, hitting the gas, and slamming into a car on W. Esplanade. All this while Stewart's 2-year-old daughter Phoenix was in her car seat in the back seat.
The Pursell and the carjacker tumbled into the street amid traffic after the crash, as Pursell fought off the intruder. He made his escape by jumping in the W. Esplanade drainage canal and swimming away.
WWL-TV reports the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrested Donovan Melancon later that hour, and booked with attempted carjacking and simple burglary.
