JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman's brave actions helped her Wendy's co-worker get away from an armed robbery suspect in Jacksonville early Monday morning.
When she heard the car alarm go off, that’s when Kaylie Hale saw her co-worker was in trouble.
“I turned around, and he was fighting with another man," Kaylie Hale, an employee at the Wendy’s on Southside Boulevard said.
the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the suspect beat the victim, Donald Bowens, with what appeared to be a tire iron and demanded money.
Hale said the struggle took them into the bushes, and that’s when she and her mother drove up in their car to scare the suspect away. Bowens was able to get in the backseat, but Hale says the suspect didn't give up.
“Once he tried to get Donald out of our car, that's when he got really scared because we screamed out, ‘we're calling 911,'" she explained.
Hale said the suspect then took off in a black Cadillac sedan.
According to the police report, Bowens went to the hospital to be treated for a large cut on his forehead and other minor ones on his arms and head.
“I thought if I had left already, he would have been dead. For sure," Hale explained.
She said she and her mother saw the weapon, but it didn’t stop them from stepping in for Bowens.
"He's a nice guy at work," Hale described Bowens. "He helps a lot. He works a lot. He'd do anything for you at work."
So this time, she helped Bowens.
After the incident, Hale said Wendy’s has implemented new safety measures that make her comfortable closing up the restaurant again.
JSO is still looking for the armed robbery suspect. If you have information that would assist in this investigation, you're asked to call crime stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.