MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A restaurant hostess is sharing details of a frightening encounter as she walked home from work on South Beach.

“The streets are very empty and dark,” said the victim.

And dangerous for a hostess was was simply headed home from work .

“There was a girl near me, and she said, ‘Can you do me a favor?'” recalled the victim, who did not want to be identified.

The encounter happened on Pennsylvania Avenue near 15th Street, on April 9, when a strange woman…

“Began to run behind me, and she was telling me, ‘Don’t run, don’t run’ … She was chasing me,” said the 31-year-old, who feared for her life and ran away. “She was trying to get my purse.”

But her horrible night got worse when, she said, a car pulled up with a man behind the wheel, blocking her ability to get away, and the woman who chased her grabbed her bag and began to beat on the victim.

“Hitting me against the car many, many times,” said the victim.

And a police report states, “grabbing her by the hair and pulling her to the ground.”

“This has to be a dream. This is a nightmare,” said the victim.

She tells us the man in the car eventually got out to help finish the job. Police said the pair “continued to batter the victim and smashing her head onto the car. The victim then released her purse. Both defendants then entered the vehicle and fled the scene with the victim’s purse.”

She screamed, “Help me! Help me!”

Beat up and mugged…

“She broke my nose, I was bleeding,” she said.

…but out of danger, when the crooks drove off.

A witness who requested to remain anonymous took a photo of the vehicle’s tag, and through license plate readers, Miami Beach Police were able to track down and arrest Karesha Wright and Carlos Mirruggiero.

They now face charges of strong arm robbery.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox