Richmond carjacking victim speaks out after discovering car’s fate through 8News

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- In an exclusive interview with 8News, the victim of a carjacking in Richmond this week is speaking out after learning of the car's fate from an 8News article.

Joseph Woodford said he had just gotten home from work and grocery shopping when he had the driver's door of his car opened and a gun pressed to his chest.

"When he said, 'Give me the car,' I was looking at him [and] trying to register what's going on," Woodford said. "But once he said it the second time and I realized the gun was pointed at me and my chest, I knew, 'Oh, this is serious.'"

Woodford said it was exactly 10:58 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, when he was carjacked near his apartment complex on Westover Hills Boulevard. He reported it stolen to Richmond Police shortly after.

Police said at 11:18 p.m., officers on patrol in the area of Creighton Road and Nine Mile Road saw the car and recognized it from Woodford's report. They attempted a felony traffic stop, but the suspect fled, kicking off a police chase that took them to East Broad Street.

Kristen Rankin and Fay Carsons saw when the chase came to an end.

"We looked out of our window to see what was going on, and a moment later, there was a car driving directly into our house," Rankin said.

According to the witnesses, after hitting a dead end, the suspect driving Woodford's car turned around onto the sidewalk in front of their neighbors' homes. In the blink of an eye, he had collided with their concrete front porch.

"He hit our house with a lot of force," Rankin said. "In any other scenario, there would have been a car through someone's living room."

Rankin and Carsons sent videos of the crash to 8News. It was from that article that Woodford discovered the fate of his car.

Aftermath of a Nov. 11 police pursuit and crash in the 3600 block of E. Broad Street in Richmond. (Videos: Kristen Rankin, Fay Carsons)

"Upset is an understatement," Woodford recalled after seeing the videos. "Something I worked so hard to get was taken from me in less than two minutes, and then to see the damage to something that I've only had two weeks."

He continued, "And then for me to find out where my car was from a news story, versus the police department, was very disheartening."

Aftermath of a Nov. 11 police pursuit and crash in the 3600 block of E. Broad Street in Richmond. (Photo: Kristen Rankin)

Aftermath of a Nov. 11 police pursuit and crash in the 3600 block of E. Broad Street in Richmond. (Photo: Fay Carsons)

Police said after the crash, the suspect fled on foot, leaving behind a firearm with an extended magazine. He was apprehended shortly.

The suspect is a juvenile, and he has been charged with carjacking, eluding police and multiple firearm-related offenses, according to authorities.

Woodford said he won't soon forget the fear of that moment or the loss of his car. He said he now has to use costly rideshares to get around, yet he still has to make payments on the stolen car.

"I haven't been able to have a restful night since this happened," Woodford said. "All I see in my head now is that gun pointed at me."

Woodford said police let him know Thursday that his car is considered totaled — the front bumper came off and the airbags deployed.

Woodford said he also lost his specialty medication and personal identification that were in a backpack in the car.

"Something I worked very hard for for the past year and a half was taken from me," he said. "I get emotional when I think about [the car] because that was my baby... And for two weeks we're in the wind — and now I don't have it."