WARREN, Mich. – Local 4 heard for the first time from a mother of four who was shot during a carjacking while she was working to feed her family.
Joanna Withrow was injured at a Warren gas station four months ago, and she’s now out of the hospital and fighting to walk again.
Withrow said she couldn’t have imagined how her life would change while pumping gas.
We’ve all done it: prepay for our gas, walk out, and pump that gas, but Withrow said she didn’t get that far because she was shot three times and carjacked.
She remembers the moment police arrived.
“As soon as I seen her and they ran up on me, I grabbed her hand and just was like don’t let me die, please get me back to my babies,” Withrow said.
Read: ‘It was a miracle she lived’: Family of Warren gas station shooting victim speaks out
On April 15, Withrow stopped at the Sunoco gas station on 8 Mile Road and Ryan Road in Warren. She said she wanted to fill up then pick up a few DoorDash orders.
Withrow said when she walked out from prepaying, a guy with a mask was pointing a gun at her.
“They didn’t give me a chance,” Withrow said. “It wasn’t like, ‘just give me your keys,’ he just shot me right away, and it was like five rounds. I remember hearing them.”
Withrow was hit in her stomach and twice in her leg, and then the suspects took off with her car, phone, and her fanny pack with her wallet inside.
After the shooting, she was taken to the hospital, where she stayed for more than a month.
“My sons, all they knew is mom tucked them into bed and never came back,” Withrow said.
After four surgeries, three blood transfusions, and hours of physical therapy, she’s back with her children. Three people were charged with the crime. But now, Withrow has to start over.
“My boyfriend, you know, he has to take me to all these appointments because I can’t drive, and even before my mom had helped take me to appointments, you know, this is a lot of other people’s time too,” Withrow said.
Even in a difficult time such as this, Withrow said she it’s bringing out the good in many people; from the police officer who picked her up in the parking lot to a nurse’s aid.
“I was telling her (nurse’s aid) how they took my fanny pack, and she took this (her fanny pack) off, and she was like, ‘here I want you to have it,’ and I was just like almost crying,” Withrow said. “I was like, ‘no girl, no, you’re not giving me that,’ and she’s like, ‘yes, take it.’”
Winthrow said she can’t help but to be grateful.
“I feel blessed,” Winthrow said. “I feel like a miracle.”
Winthrow was a hairstylist, but that career is up in the air. Doctors told her that it would be months before she could go back to work again.
There were three people charged in her case. One of them was in high school at the time of the shooting.
All three are back in court next month.
Click here to help support the Withrow family.