‘I had my daughter in the back,' driver attacked in street takeover speaks out

A mother who tried to get out of traffic stalled by a group doing street stunts in south Fort Worth talked to NBC 5 about her frightening night behind the wheel.

Carissa, who did not share her last name out of fear of retaliation, said she was driving the grey SUV that drove through an illegal meetup on Sunday, April 7 at the intersection of West Berry and Hemphill Street.

Carissa had left home with her 2-year-old daughter to buy milk. She drove north on Hemphill Street and noticed crowds starting to gather. The video Carissa recorded showed that some vehicles were still able to cross the intersection.

However, once driving back south on Hemphill, she said she ended up stuck in traffic for about 30 minutes.

“It was kind of irritating,” Carissa said. “I was waiting for 30 minutes to get through … I called 911 to let them know this is happening. And they were like, ‘Yeah we already have calls’.”

Carissa provided a screenshot of her call log from April 7. Her call to 911 lasted about 20 seconds.

Carissa said she and other drivers were honking and demanding to be let through.

“My car started to overheat. I was just sitting there for so long, idling,” Carissa said. “They were like, ‘Go that way.’ I was like, ‘I don’t need to go that way.’ It’s crazy you shouldn’t even be blocking the intersection.”

Several videos shared across social media show cars recklessly doing donuts at the intersection. Crowds of at least more than 30 people cheered on the drivers as they recorded.

With no sign of police, Carissa admits she grew frustrated and tried to get away from the crowd.

“I keep going and all of the sudden they started hitting my car,” Carissa said.

A mob of people charged Carissa’s vehicle, kicking, punching, and pushing the SUV as they shouted threats. Carissa said she rolled down to tell the group her daughter was in the backseat.

“It sounded, like, I don’t know. It was crazy. It was loud, though,” Carissa said.

She said it was not until gunshots were heard that the crowd scrambled and left her alone.

“You hear a gunshot in the air … and then yeah, there were two of three gunshots,” Carissa said.

A video shows one man dressed in a white short-sleeve T-shirt, grey shorts, and white sneakers pull out a handgun, point it at Carissa’s vehicle, and then fire it in the air.

As of Thursday afternoon, Fort Worth Police said they have not identified the alleged shooter. They have however arrested multiple drivers and cited several spectators.

When it comes to their delayed response on April 7, a spokesperson for the police department told NBC 5 they had to plan a strategic response as it pulled away from other emergency services.

“It shouldn’t have gone on as long as it did,” Carissa said.

Fort Worth Police added they are using a variety of methods to take down reckless drivers and seize their vehicles across the city.

Carissa was eventually able to speak to the police.

"They told me I had to file a police report online and that there was nothing they can do unless I was physically injured," Carissa said.

Her vehicle has large dents throughout and a taillight cracked.

“I had to pop this out just to open the door,” Carissa said about the dents on the passenger side.

Now, she hopes insurance will cover the damages.