Victim's Voice: Woman recalls horrific & terrifying carjacking in Prairieville

PRAIRIEVILLE — The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested 53-year-old Brent Chambliss after allegedly beating a woman before taking her vehicle and involving authorities in a high-speed chase.

Chambliss took deputies on a brief high-speed chase before crashing and getting arrested.

The victim, who endured the carjacking, recounted the events of October 13 in the Subway parking lot on Hwy 42 in Prairieville.

“I went to get a sub for my son, and after I checked out, I went to my car,” the woman recalled. “I pulled out and stopped, and I think I put the overhead light on. The guy came up with his hoodie closed, so you only saw a slit of his face. That parking lot is very dark. He walked up, and I thought, ‘Maybe he’s a panhandler.’ When I get in the car, my doors lock, so I wasn’t worried about that. I don’t know what happened, but he put the gun up to the window and then pulled the door open.”

After that, the victim said Chambliss put the gun to her head. She said Chambliss hadn’t said anything to her until then, so she didn’t know what he wanted. His first words to her were a fatal threat.

“He said, ‘Get out, (I’m going to) kill you,'” she recalled. “I went to get out of the car, and that’s when he hit me with the gun in the back of my head and proceeded to beat me with what I think were his fists over and over.”

Chambliss got in the car and drove off. The victim said she called 911, and a deputy nearby chased Chambliss as he sped over 100 mph before crashing.

“I don’t think anybody inside knew what was going on, but this guy was a career criminal,” she said. “So I think he knew how to keep it really quiet. He didn’t say anything, so I didn’t say anything. But when I did get out, that parking lot was empty.”

“I felt the back of my head and realized I was bleeding. That’s when I lost it,” she continued. “I went in Subway and started screaming hysterically for someone to help me.”

The victim said the Subway workers had barricaded themselves in the bathroom because they were scared and unaware of what was happening. Later, she said one of the workers showed a picture she had taken of Chambliss earlier that week after he allegedly blew kisses at the Subway employee.

The victim said after Chambliss was arrested, she was comforted with news from law enforcement that it was unlikely he’d be getting out.

“From the very start, they just really made me feel like he’s never getting out,” she explained. “There was never a point in my mind where I thought he’s gonna get out.”

Chambliss was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail.

As a result of the attack, the victim was transported to the hospital, where her head injuries were treated. As of Wednesday night, she said she was suffering from concussion-like symptoms.

“There’s one thing I learned. When you get in your car and turn that overhead light on, that shows that you’re not paying attention, and to have that light on in the dark, you can no longer see your surroundings,” she explained. “A lot of people get in their car, and they turn the overhead light on, and that’s a big no-no. I want other people to know what happened so this doesn’t happen to them.”