NEW ORLEANS — Authorities are still looking for the 17-year-old who escaped from juvenile court Monday and according to police, promptly carjacked a 72-year-old woman.
Officials also are scrutinizing their own security lapses and failure to follow a new that requires immediate notification about juvenile escapes.
WWL Louisiana's Investigative Reporter Mike Perlstein got an exclusive interview with the local entertainer whose life was turned upside down when she became the victim of Monday's carjacking.
And in classic New Orleans fashion, Perlstein caught up to Barbara Lane as she was trying to shake off the trauma of the crime to play her next gig.
"I am so lucky to be alive," those were the thoughts of 72-year-old Lane after the immediate shock of being carjacked Monday while waiting in the parking lot of the LSU Dental School.
Police said her attacker was Carols Taylor, a 17-year-old inmate who had just escaped from New Orleans Juvenile Court.
"And I'm sitting there thinking 'Oh my God, does he have a weapon? Is he going to shoot me, what?' ", she said. "My brain is, like, going, really really fast."
Lane said her attacker smeared her hands with his blood as he grabbed for her keys, leaving her even more alarmed. But the carjacker wasn't done.
"I'm trying to get out of his way and he veers the car off and tries to hit me with the car," she explained.
Lane said the next 48 hours were a blur. Later that day, a Good Samaritan found her discarded cell phone at Paris and St. Bernard Avenues. The next day, police said they found her banged-up car abandoned in New Orleans East.
And while she hustled to replace her driver's license and missing credit cards, this lifelong New Orleans entertainer realized she had a gig to play.
"They love me and I love them," she said. "And you got to get back on the horse and ride, you know?"
Perlstein caught up with Lane as she arrived to play piano and sing for several dozen residents at an assisted living home in Gulfport, Mississippi. It's a monthly show, a far cry from her early days playing festivals in Europe and hobnobbing with her mentor, the late great Allen Toussaint.
But the rhythm is in her blood. "I played at Pat O'Brien's. I played Royal Street, in the Quarter. I mean, I've lived all over the city," Lane said.
And while a carjacking didn't derail Lane from getting back to the stage, the musical ambassador for the city said she is a little more wary after her dangerous run-in.
"I've been playing music my whole life. I've been preaching the gospel of New Orleans," she said. "I don't want to tell anyone I'm from there. I don't want to anyone to go there and get hurt or killed."
But even as she works to get her life back on track, Lane said she remains grateful.
"It's really a hassle to get back what's stolen from me," she said. "At least he didn't take my life."
A GoFundMe was created to help Lane recover what was stolen.
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