Jessica Liesmann:says “everything happened too quickly”.

By Naheed Rajwani/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

A Dallas mother who unwittingly became the star of a high-speed chase this week said she’s dumbfounded by all the attention she’s received.
But a day after the crash and scuffle with a carjacking suspect that fuelled her fame, Jessica Liesmann said she’s glad fate placed her minivan in Artrai Alexander’s path.
“I believe (God) makes everything happen for a reason,” Liesmann, 29, said. “I’m assuming the reason was to run him into the right person who would stop him from causing more damage.”
Alexander, 40, is being held in the Dallas County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and evading arrest. He told KXAS-TV that he does not take responsibility for the carjacking or chase, saying he fled because he was “spooked” by the police.
He did, however, offer an apology to those he hit in the high-speed chase.
“I apologise to them,” he told the television station from the Dallas County Jail. “I apologise to them for this whole incident, I apologise and hope JT (sic) be OK and the other people that were injured as well.” Police said Alexander stole a Dodge Challenger reportedly left idling outside a convenience store in near Fair Park. He pointed a gun at the car’s owner and fled, authorities say.
Police gave chase, and the pursuit ended when Alexander crashed into Liesmann’s minivan and a black sport utility vehicle.
Liesmann immediately turned around to ask her 13-year-old son, TJ, if he was OK. She jumped out of her car, her boyfriend trailing behind, and started yelling at Alexander for speeding in a school zone.
Liesmann and her boyfriend yanked Alexander out of his car and body-slammed him on the pavement as TV cameras rolled.
Police officers streamed into the area and took Alexander into custody.
The media has nicknamed Liesmann “Mama Bear” because of her actions.
The rage Liesmann exhibited came from a place of fear, she said. Her four-year-old son died last year because of a health condition, and she wasn’t ready to lose another son. Liesmann also has a six-year-old daughter.
“Everything happened too quickly,” she recalled. “I was in a rage, just thinking he was going to pay for what he did.”
But she didn’t realise the smackdown had become a social media sensation until TJ spotted her on TV later that afternoon. They were sitting in the emergency room at Medical City Hospital when her son looked up and exclaimed, “Mom, you’re on TV!”
“My mouth fell open,” Liesmann recalled. “All I could do is grab my face. It was like, ‘Oh, my God’”.
The next morning, a handful of TV crews showed up at Liesmann’s door, asking for interviews.Her phone rang incessantly. Texts. Phone calls. Voice mails.
“I don’t know how to take this,” she said. “I don’t know how to take a car accident turning into something like this.”
The unexpected publicity has had its perks, too.
On Thursday afternoon, Southwest Kia in Mesquite gave Liesmann a new 2015 Kia Sedona. Her old car, a 2005 Nissan Quest, was badly damaged in the crash.
Some might say she’s fortunate she wasn’t hurt. A handgun was recovered from the stolen vehicle, and police have made it clear they don’t encourage Liesmann’s behaviour.
“Thankful that the citizens who held the chase suspect weren’t injured by him,” Maj Max Geron of Dallas Police Department tweeted soon after the incident. “Would never advise you do that.”
Liesmann said she, too, is grateful her boyfriend and her son weren’t injured - and that Alexander was apprehended before he could cause more damage.
“It actually turned out to be a happy ending for this story, thank God,” she said.
And what does she think about the “Mama Bear” nickname?
“I’ve always felt that way anyway. I’ve always been protective of my kids,” she said.
Liesmann returned to work yesterday, hoping the fame would simmer so she can move on with her old life - and her new car.