I ran over my attacker with my van after he threatened my children and I at knifepoint.

Friday, June 14th 2013, I was going to the store with my 5 yr old and my 2 yr old. I left my house around 12:45 in the aftertoon, and drove my minivan to the local Krogers in Baytown Texas. I parked my car near the side of Kroger, by the drive thru pharmacy. I took my son's out of the car, locked the doors using my remote lock, have to press the button at least three times to make sure my doors are locked, and walked to the RedBox to turn in the DVD's I had rented. As I was turning in the movies I saw a guy standing outside Kroger smoking a cigarette, I noticed him because of the red bandana he was wearing around his neck. I then remembered that we needed milk at home, and took my boys inside. We shopped around got some milk, bread, donuts (because my kids love donuts all 6 of them) and some hair dye and checked out. I took my kids to the car, put them in, buckled them up, put the groceries in the van, and drove across the street to my local CVS.
    I parked next to the building near the Redbox kiosk because I was thinking of renting another DVD with the promo code that came out of the DR. Pepper soda box I bought a week ago. I got out, locked the doors, not sure if I clicked my remote the normal three times or not, then went inside, with my two boys, got my color oops, checked out and proceeded to leave. It was a little after 1pm.

I opened my doors, got my kids inside, by tow year old buckled up, and left to go home. As I made my turn down Strickland road, the man that had been hiding in my van popped up from the third row seat and waved a knife and said, "Hey lady, if you don't want your kids to get hurt you'll do exactly what I say". I was shocked and scared, but I told myself to stay calm because panicking now would only make matters worse. My 5 year old said, "hey what are you doing in here?". I asked my 5 year old to come up front, and the guy grabbed my son, and sat him next to him. I asked him what he wanted, even though I knew the answer was either money or me, and he said he needed money, I told him I didn't have any cash. He then said, "Well you better go to an ATM and get some or your kids are gonna get hurt." I asked him how much he wanted, He said, " I need at least $200 dollars", I told him I didn't have $200 dollars in my account, I had about $20 dollars. He told me, "You better figure out how to get it or your kids are gonna get hurt." I had turned onto E Fayle street by then, and was getting ready to turn onto Danubina, when I glanced back in my rear view mirror he was looking out the window, and I reached for my phone so I could make an emergency call to 911, and he said," Don't go back to Kroger's, go somewhere else." I looked at him in my rear view mirror again and realized that this was the same guy I saw standing outside Kroger's earlier smoking a cigarette. He was wearing that red bandana I noticed. I made a left onto Danubina towards E. James street, and as I was pulling up to the stop sign, he was telling me where to go. He told me to turn left and go to the little gas station right down the street near E James Street and Kilgore, which I knew didn't have very many people nearby, only an apartment complex. I had already decided to turn right because I knew if I went left, there was nothing stopping him from hurting my kids when I got out of the car to get him money, and I refused to leave him in the car alone with my children. I made the turn onto E. James street heading towards N. Alexander and he said," hey lady, are you crazy are you trying to get your kids hurt, but by this time he was already up in the front seat like I had prayed he would be. He saw me with my phone by then and said to give him the phone, to which I said ,"Hell no." I put my hand in between my seat the the door so that he couldn't reach it. He then placed the knife at my throat and said give me the phone, I still said no, but I had to get the knife away from my throat, so I put my left hand, (which was holding the phone) in between his hand and my throat so that I could try and get the knife away from my neck.

I pushed him off me, dropped my phone, and saw a telephone pole up ahead. I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, while he was still trying to get the phone from where it had dropped and swerved my van towards the telephone pole. I was aiming for the pole because my children and I had seat belts on, he didn't. I figured if I hit the pole, he would hit his head on the windshield or go through it, but I missed the pole. I came to a stop and then he started to attack me again. He tried to stab me in the leg, in the stomach, and the neck again. I kept honking the horn in order to attract someones attention to try and come help me. But no one came. I was on my own. We struggled for a while, me honking the horn, and trying to get the knife, him trying to get me to stop honking the horn, and keep the knife. I finally stopped honking the horn and focused on getting the knife from him, his only weapon, and I could hear my 2 year old screaming in the middle seat, all I was thinking was get the knife, keep him focused on you and your kids will stay alive.

I got the knife from him and we continued to struggle only he was trying to get his knife back. He bit my hand trying to force me to give up the knife, but he could have bitten through my knuckles for all I cared at that moment, I wasn't giving him that knife back. I pushed him hard enough to get him to fall back into the passenger seat, and then I balled up my fist and punched him in the face, and told him to get the F*^$ out of my car. He got out and started to run, I was scared, and worried that if he got away he could come after us again, and possibly have a gun instead of a knife next time, or he could hurt or kill someone else, and I knew that couldn't happen, so I stepped on the gas and took off after him. I was intending to side swipe him, just clip him with the side of my van just hard enough to stop him until the police arrived. But I swerved too much and ended up running completely over him. When I put my car in park, I threw my door open and got out, with the knife still in my hand. I saw him sitting up, so I thought he probably wasn't hurt to bad. I then screamed at him, told him that he was F*^$ing nuts, he was crazy, coming after children. I yelled at him, and told him,"How dare you threaten my children", and told him he was crazy again. I went back to my van and asked my kids if they were okay, they said yes. I looked back and saw him scooting back, but not getting up. I went back over to him and said,"You messed with the wrong B*+^$ today didn't you?" He said yes, I told him to get up, and he said he couldn't move.

I then walked back over to my van which was about 4 feet away, and looked up and saw that there was a lady on the phone near where I first ran my van off the road. It reminded me that I needed to find my phone. When I did find my phone I turned back around and saw that there was a Baytown Police Officer who was walking toward the attacker who was laying on the ground by this time. I heard the officer ask the attacker if he was okay, and I yelled, "he hid in my van and threatened to hurt my children with a knife."

 The officer looked at me then back at him, and by that time I was so upset I crouched down in the grass and started crying. I heard the officer ask the attacker where the knife was, and I stood up and said, I still have the knife, and I walked over to the police officer and gave him the knife. The lady that had been on the phone walked over to me and asked me if I was alright, I said I was, and she then apologized for not getting to me sooner, she didn't know what was going on, she had just heard from someone in the dentist office that someone was ran over by a car, and she came out and dialed 911. I told her that when she saw me she probably thought I was some psycho lady who just ran some guy over.

More officers started to show up, EMT's checked me out, an ambulance came out and they took the guy and put him in it. I ended up calling my husband sometime in all the chaos, and questions, and he came from work up to where I was. He took our 2 boys back home, and talked with our other 4 children about what had happened while 2 detectives took me to the police station to get my statement on video. And the media then started calling asking to interview me. I didn't want to do it at first. But then I realized that if I could help just 1 person become more aware of the things that could happen to them, then I think I would be doing a good thing. So I agreed to be interviewed by Channel 11, 2, and 13 news from Houston Texas.

I am telling my story because I want people to be aware. Things like this can happen to you. Bad things happen everyday. You can do everything you could possibly think of to be prepared, but you will never be prepared enough. Check your vehicle before you get into it. Ensure that all your doors lock properly. I talked to my Aunt and she said that her Ford windstar van has the same problem my van does with the sliding doors looking to be locked but not actually being locked. Check under your car, check in the back seat, check in the trunk, check your car thoroughly before you get into it, or allow your children to get into it. Be aware of your surroundings. Be careful. Please always be careful.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Baker
Mother of 6
Survivor, Fighter