Fuquay-Varina, N.C. — Fuquay-Varina police arrested a man whom bystanders say they hit with a frozen turkey when he allegedly carjacked a woman's sedan outside a grocery store Sunday.

The man took money from a cash register at a BP gas station at Ten-Ten Road and US. Highway 401 around 11:30 a.m., Garner police said. He then crossed Ten-Ten Road to the parking lot of a Harris Teeter store and approached Irene Moorman Bailey, who was loading groceries in her car.

Witnesses told police that the man started beating Bailey in the face, trying to get her keys.

“The lady was being beaten on the ground. She was lying on the ground, and the guy was on top of her – physically hitting her,” shopper Randy Owens said.

Bystanders intervened and hit the man in the head with a frozen turkey that Bailey had bought, police said.

“I was just grocery shopping, like any other day, and I happened to come out and I saw all this chaos that just had happened,” shopper Leanne Sweet said.

The man managed to get into Bailey's 2001 Nissan Maxima and hit five other cars while escaping from the parking lot, officers said.

"My bumper's cracked, and the whole side is dented in," Sweet said.

“He backed across, and he hit the Cadillac and hit our car and hit another car that was parked,” Owens said. "I just wish he'd hit him harder and knocked him out and brought the whole thing to a close."

Officers found Fred Ervin, 30, in Bailey's car in Garner, Fuquay-Varina police said. Ervin was taken to WakeMed with a serious head wound. He was listed in fair condition Monday morning.

When Ervin is released, police said he will face these charges: assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, robbery, driving with a revoked license, hit and run and larceny.

"Sad is what it is, especially during the holiday season,” Owens said.

"My heart goes out to that woman," Sweet said.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office and Garner and Fuquay-Varina police departments responded to the incident. The BP is in Garner town limits, and the Harris Teeter is in Fuquay-Varina.