Baytown, Texas. June 2013.
Dorothy Baker and her two sons�ages 2 and 5�finished shopping at CVS on a Friday afternoon. She loaded them into the minivan and started driving.
Then a man popped up from the backseat.
The Threat
Ismael Martinez, 54, had hidden in the unlocked van while the family shopped. He pulled a knife.
"If I didn't want my kids to get hurt," Baker said, "I would do exactly what he said."
He demanded she drive to an ATM for money. Her children were in the car. A knife was at her back.
She drove.
The Fight
Dorothy Baker didn't drive to an ATM. She fought back.
She grabbed the knife. He bit her hand. The blade cut across her chest. She took her fist and hit him in the face.
"I told him to get out of my car," she said.
He didn't leave. So she made him leave.
The Telephone Pole
Baker intentionally drove her van into a telephone pole. She hoped to send Martinez through the front windshield.
It didn't work. He was still in the van. Still a threat to her children.
So she ran him over.
What She Told Him
Before it was over, Dorothy Baker told Ismael Martinez something that became famous in the retelling:
"You messed with the wrong witch."
She wasn't exaggerating.
The Injuries
Martinez was taken by Life Flight helicopter to the hospital with serious back injuries. He was listed in stable condition. He was expected to face serious charges.
Baker sustained a cut across her chest where she grabbed the knife. Her hand was bitten. But she was alive. Her children were safe.
The Calculation
Dorothy Baker could have driven to the ATM. She could have given him money. She could have complied with every demand.
But compliance doesn't guarantee safety when your children are in the car with a knife-wielding criminal.
She calculated differently. She grabbed the knife. She punched him. She drove into a pole. She ran him over.
She chose violence over compliance. She chose her children over her own safety. She chose to be the wrong witch to mess with.
What Her Husband Said
Charles Flugence, Baker's husband, described the aftermath. "She's got a cut that goes across her chest, and she grabbed the knife and he bit her hand."
He wasn't there during the attack. He couldn't protect his family. His wife had to do it herself.
She did.
The Weapon
Martinez had a knife. Baker had a 4,000-pound minivan and the will to use it.
When you threaten a mother's children, you find out what she's willing to do. In this case: grab a blade, punch a face, crash into a pole, and run over a threat.
What Remains
The story went viral. Nancy Grace interviewed her. News outlets nationwide covered it. People called her a hero.
She called herself a mother protecting her children.
Martinez went to the hospital. Baker went home with her sons. The minivan had some damage. Everyone learned an important lesson about which witches not to mess with.