HAMPTON, Va. – A Virginia man survived a carjacking attempt – but had part of his thumb bitten off as he fought off his attacker
The 67-year-old victim, who didn’t want his name used, was attacked on November 9th in Hampton, Virginia, according to WTKR.
He had a bandage covering his right thumb and said it was throbbing in pain after surgery on Tuesday.
He told WTKR that he had gone to his older brother’s house to fix his wheelchair, but when he went to leave and get back in his truck a young man attacked him.
“I was trying to turn the ignition off with my left hand and I’m holding him around … his neck with my right hand and at some point, my thumb ended up in his mouth and he bit down on it. I yanked my thumb out of his mouth and he ran,”
“He just started wailing on me and trying to pull me on out of the truck,” he said. “I had a good size knot there and he hit me behind the ear which is still sore. At the same time, I’m laying back and kicking, trying to get him off of me.”
He said the fight spilled over into the street and for a second it looked like the suspect gave up, but then he came back around and got into the passenger side of the truck and the alleged assault continued.
“I was trying to turn the ignition off with my left hand and I’m holding him around … his neck with my right hand and at some point, my thumb ended up in his mouth and he bit down on it. I yanked my thumb out of his mouth and he ran,” he said.
It took a few minutes for him to realize the tip was missing.
“As I looked down and I asked the police officer what was that down there, she shined her light and that’s when she discovered the tip of the finger laying there by the door of my truck,” he said.
Police arrested 24-year-old Jared Ross Lesesne and charged him with malicious wounding and attempted carjacking.
The victim said the shock of what happened didn’t set in until the day after the attack when the doctor explained that he couldn’t save the tip of his thumb.
Now he has a warning for others.
“Please be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
The victim will have more surgery on Friday and says he is just trying to deal with what happened.
