Police are searching for 25-year-old Austin McClure Bounds, who's been charged with 2nd degree aggravated assault after investigators say he attempted to run over a waitress.
"I was absolutely scared out of my mind," said Nicki Newman, the victim of the "dine-and-dash" theft.
Newman on Friday recalled the wide range of emotions she experienced on the night of June 11th. She was working her shift as a server at Antonio's restaurant, just off of U.S. 183 near Spicewood Springs Road in Northwest Austin, when a party of seven came in near closing time and then left without paying.
"I don't know what I was thinking," said Newman. "It probably wasn't very smart but I ran out there."
She began pounding on the trunk of the car two of the men were in.
"I was screaming, 'Hey, you didn't pay your tab! Come back,'" she recalled saying.
She noticed they had attempted to cover their rear license plate with a paper bag.
"So I pulled the paper off, and I know they saw me, because immediately I could hear the engine rev and I turned around to run away and they hit me with their car," said Newman.
Newman was knocked forward, resulting in bruising, cuts, and an injured back.
"Once I was down on the ground, they kept going and they could have really hit me then and that was just really scary then looking up and thinking, 'Oh my God! This car is going to crush me,'" she said.
The suspects eventually drove off. Newman says her actions were triggered by a long standing policy at many restaurants whereby the server is responsible for the bill if a customer leaves without paying.
"You just worked your butt off all these hours and your money is gone. It's a really crappy policy, but that is just how some places are," said Newman.
At the Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin, server Cherie Schwartz has been the victim of dine-and-dash customers and understands why Newman did what she did.
"Servers themselves get paid a little less than minimum wage, so we are really dependent on our tips," pointed out Schwartz. "So when that happens, it can really take a nice chunk of change out of our pocket."
Newman was able to get the license plate information to police, who tracked the vehicle back to Bounds, who remains at large.
Newman says she's incurred $2,000 in medical bills and no longer works at Antonio's.
