Capitol Hill woman fights car prowler -- and wins!

SEATTLE -- A Capitol Hill woman caught a man breaking into her car, rummaging through her things -- and decided she wasn't about to let him get away with it.

Brittany Hancock said Friday night she was coming home from the gym shortly before 10 p.m. on Sept. 22 and walked into the garage of her apartment building. That's where she spotted a man rummaging through her car.

"Kind of stopped and said, what the heck?  I could see a guy staring at me in the front seat," Brittany said.

Instead of running away and calling police, she tried to stop the man.

"I think I sized him up probably, and I then chucked an empty water bottle at him as hard as I could and totally missed," Brittany said.

The man tried to take off, but they two fought inside the garage.  He struck her twice in the face.  Brittany said she didn't feel anything because her adrenaline was pumping.

"The whole time I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, Help me!" she said.

The would-be thief took off down an alley -- but Brittany took off after him.

"I grabbed his backpack, he had a black backpack. I said, oh shoot, so I took off running with it and I looked back and he was chasing me," she said.

The thief was able to grab the bag and took off running with Brittany right on his heels.

"I jumped on his back and put his arm behind his back and pushed him into the ground," Brittany said.

Luckily, a nearby witness was able help hold the man down until police arrived.  The suspect was booked on robbery charges.

Brittany said that as she explained what happened to police, officers looked shocked.