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Dashcam video shows truck driver thwart kidnapping
Dramatic video from a truck driver's dashboard camera captured what appears to be a kidnapping attempt. The woman ran directly into his path with her hands cuffed behind her back.
A truck-driving preacher helped to stop an alleged kidnapping attempt while driving his big rig in South Carolina.
His dashboard camera caught the dramatic moment on camera.
Suspect pretended to be police
What we know:
According to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Department, the victim told police she was out taking a walk when a man in a green Cadillac "came from behind her and told her he was with the police." She said he took her phone and Social Security card, handcuffed her and forced her into the back seat of the car.
The woman told police that the man pulled over by a gated property and got out. She said she tried to open the rear doors, but they were locked.
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As the man rummaged through the trunk, she said, she climbed over the seat and escaped through the open driver's side door.
That’s when she ran directly into the path of 53-year-old Anthony J. Moore, who was driving his truck route about 20 miles from the Georgia border. Video from Moore’s dashboard camera shows the victim running toward his truck, when a man in a Cadillac that was on the side of the road swerved in front of the truck before taking off. The video has no sound.
Woman make harrowing escape after alleged attempted kidnapping (Anthony Moore via Storyful)
What they're saying:
"I let my window down and she said, ‘Please help me. He’s trying to kidnap me,’" Moore told The Associated Press.
As the woman swerved, the man chasing her pulled up beside Moore and showed "what looks to be a badge."
"And he said, ‘I’m with law enforcement, and she jumped out of my car,’" Moore recalled. The man then left in the Cadillac.
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Moore said witnesses called 911, stayed to help get the handcuffs off of her, and gave her water. Moore, who’s also a preacher in South Carolina, said the woman told him that she had just graduated the day before, and that the man had also taken her diploma.
Jonathan Willard arrested
Jonathan Willard, 39, of New Ellenton, was arrested on one count each of kidnapping and impersonation of a law enforcement officer. He was being held Thursday at the Aiken County Detention Center.
Jonathan Willard (Aiken County Sheriff's Department)
What's next:
No court date has been scheduled, and it’s unclear if Willard has a lawyer.
The Source: This report includes video from Storyful and information from The Associated Press.