Look at the suddenness with which everything happens. There is no time to think. Just act. The driver keeps rolling and immediately swerves. If his first reaction was to stop, the criminal would have had ample time to shoot into the car if the driver began moving again.
By not slowing, the initiative was maintained by the driver, and the would-be carjacker had no time to think about shooting. By maintaining speed and just swerving into the assailant, the criminal had no time to think about shooting into the car, and instead was instantly thrown on the defensive and tried to flee. This kept the driver from being shot at.
Had the driver’s initial reaction been to come to a full stop, then started moving forward, he could easily have been shot by the criminal. By maintaining speed, that changed everything in the situational dynamic. The perp went from offense to defense and had no time to think about shooting.
I wonder if I would have kept rolling or if my instinct would have been to come to a stop. It is not natural to run somebody over in your car. I have to wonder if I would have come to a complete stop, losing the initiative. I just don’t know.
The crime victim did the right thing - kept moving and maintained initiative.
Well, the statute of limitations is long past so let's just say that I never looked back...