Wisconsin Woman Jumps On SUV Hood To Stop Carjacker: Watch

MILWAUKEE, WI — A plucky Milwaukee woman jumped on the hood of her SUV this week to stop a carjacker whom police said tried to steal it after she finished filling it with gas. She remained there, according to video captured at the scene, even after the man drove away.

The video shows the woman, 28-year-old Melissa Smith, grabbing at the windshield wipers as the man drove away. He appeared to brake and accelerate in an attempt to throw her off but eventually jumped out, taking her purse with him, and hopped into the back seat of a waiting car that police said also was stolen. After the man gave up, Smith had to chase her SUV down the street. He had left it in drive and let it roll into traffic.

Smith was bruised in the encounter but didn’t suffer any serious injuries. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Milwaukee Patch, or click here to find your local Wisconsin Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

When she saw the suspect jump in the driver’s seat as she was removing the gas pump from her vehicle, “I had a ‘this is not happening today’ moment” and “ran around my car and then decided to hop on,” she told ABC News.

The investigation is ongoing, but police still haven’t located the suspects. Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told reporters Smith’s actions were probably “instinctual,” but he doesn’t recommend other would-be victims do the same to stop carjackers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

“Certainly her life wasn’t worth that car and that could easily have had a tragic outcome,” Flynn said.

In retrospect, Smith agrees. “I definitely should not have jumped on my car and risked my life, but that was not what I was thinking at that moment,” she told ABC.

“I can’t believe I reacted like that,” Smith, who has become an internet sensation, told NBC News. “I probably think I’m tougher than I really am.”

The ordeal has reinforced to Smith the importance of always being aware of her surroundings.

“And take your keys with you and lock your car doors when you get gas!” she told ABC. “I will never not do that.”

Image via AP video