ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A 21-year-old driver and his 15-year-old brother are okay after a terrifying attempted carjacking in Rochester on Wednesday afternoon.

“I kind of was like at shock at first. And never had someone put a knife to my neck like that. And try to hijack me,” said Thaddeus Powell.

Powell says he never expected to fear for his life while stopped at a red light along Brooks Avenue and Genesee Park Boulevard.

“He ended up hopping in the back of my car and put a knife to my throat and that at point I assumed it was a hijack,” Powell said. “I just hopped out of the car and my brother hopped out of the car with me and ran over here to where we are now.”

Just after 3 p.m., Powell and his brother jumped out of the car and dialed 911. The car slowly rolled into a utility pole with the carjacker in the backseat.

“He got out of the car and was just walking around for a minute and he tried to hijack someone else’s car while I was in the area,” said Powell.

According to Rochester police, the suspect attempted to carjack other drivers before taking off on foot, evading police.

Kennley Lessley lives across the street and says he saw what was happening and went to help Powell and his brother.

“He walked back and forth through the parking lot here and all through. Walked back up to the boys. I didn’t feel right leaving the boys up here by themselves,” Lessley said. “I just wanted to make sure they was safe. At the end of the day, as long as they was okay, I was okay.”

Meanwhile, police continue to search for the suspect.

“He ended up walking that way, they tried to dispatch the K9 unit, but they didn’t find him,” Powell said.

Rochester police say Powell’s car was recovered and towed away with minimal damage. Anyone with information is urged to call 911.

News10NBC’s Bret Vetter asked Powell if he could describe what the carjacker looked like. Powell said the suspect was a tall, slim, African American man.

Video from 4 p.m. broadcast:

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Rochester Police interview witnesses of a carjacking attempt at Genesee Park Boulevard and Brooks Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: WHEC)