ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman said she was pistol-whipped while walking in a busy Orlando neighborhood, and the man has not been caught.
“A man steps out, has a gun, points it straight at my head,” said Jo Ann Donaldson.
The robbery happened around 9:30 p.m. Friday on Shine Avenue near Illinois Street in Orlando, police said.
Donaldson told Channel 9's Cuthbert Langley that she and her friend were walking in the neighborhood to see a flower that blooms once a year.
“We had to wait till it was dark to see them, and we were just walking towards one of those trees,” Donaldson said.
They ate dinner, bought lottery tickets and headed north on Shine Avenue and on their way to see the flower when a dark sedan approached them and the driver slammed on the brakes, Donaldson said.
“A man steps out, has a gun straight out, points it at my head and tells us to give him our purses,” Donaldson said.
Donaldson screamed for her friend to run away while faced the robber, police said.
“He wasn't going to let two of us get away, and he tackled me to the ground,” Donaldson said.
Donaldson said her purse got stuck, and it turned into a violent tussle.
“He kept trying to pull it and he couldn't get it. So he took his pistol and started beating me in the head with it,” Donaldson said. “I didn't know if I was going to live through the night.”
The man eventually grabbed her purse, hopped in the car and sped away.
"I didn't know if i was going to live to tell this story," Donaldson said.
Donaldson’s friend was not hurt.
One neighbor told Channel 9 that she is changing her routine following the robbery.
"I'm no longer carrying a purse on me," said Terri Binion.
Binion heard the fight from her home and rushed outside to help Donaldson.
Watch below to hear Donaldson describe the robbery: