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Woburn man accused of carjacking woman, crashing car

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – A Woburn man was arrested Thursday after police say he tried to carjack a 29-year-old woman on Waltham Street in Boston.

Police said a woman was getting into her car at about 3:30 p.m. when she was approached by a man who pushed her into the car, got behind the wheel, and took off with her inside.

The suspect, who police identify as Joel Cartagena, 36, of Woburn, reportedly held the victim down with one hand and drove with the other. He traveled down Waltham Street and ended up on West Dedham Street where he crashed into the back of a van. He then got out of the car and ran up the street.

The victim escaped into Nivia Pena's restaurant.

"Everything happened really fast, we calmed her down, we gave her water and had her sit down," Pena said.

She went on to say that the airbags deployed in the car and hit the victim in the face, causing her nose to bleed. She was crying and scared when she entered the restaurant, Pena said.

Meanwhile, an officer saw Cartagena running and was able to catch up with him. The 36-year-old was arrested on charges of kidnapping, assault and battery and car jacking.

The victim was taken to Boston Medical Center for evaluation, but police said she was not injured. She is a medical student from Florida who was in the area visiting someone.