Florida

Chick-fil-A Worker Praised After Stopping Carjacker Outside Florida Restaurant

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said the incident took place Wednesday in the Fort Walton Beach area, when a worker at a Chick-fil-A heard a woman screaming while holding her baby

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A worker at a Chick-fil-A in Florida's panhandle is being hailed a hero after he tackled a man who tried to carjack a woman in the fast-food restaurant's parking lot.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said the incident took place Wednesday in the Fort Walton Beach area, when the Chick-fil-A employee heard a woman screaming while holding her baby after a man grabbed her keys and tried to take her car.

The woman told deputies she was getting her infant out of the car when 43-year-old William Branch approached her with a stick and demanded the keys.

He grabbed them from the waistband of the woman's pants and got into the car when the worker, who was not identified, ran over and intervened.

Video taken by a bystander shows the two men wrestling on the ground after the employee reportedly tackled Branch. Authorities said Branch punched the employee in the face during the altercation, but the worker was not seriously injured.

Other employees can seen be seen running over to help detain the man until deputies arrived and took him into custody.

"A major shout-out to this young man for his courage," said the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office in a statement.

Branch was charged with carjacking with a weapon and battery.

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