Video captured the harrowing final moments of a woman's attempted kidnapping in the West Loop, which was thwarted by two Good Samaritans who stopped to aid as she screamed for help.
The footage, taken by someone inside a residence near the scene, shows a man and a Lyft driver attempting to stop a minivan from fleeing the scene.
At approximately 8:45 a.m., a woman was walking in the 200 block of South Sangamon, on her way to get coffee, when an unknown offender approached her and grabbed both of her arms, Chicago police said in a community alert. The offender attempted to pull her into a maroon Dodge Plymouth minivan, but the woman screamed and tried to fight him off.
“I see a man walk out of a minivan and start walking towards me. I start moving faster, then he grabs me, starts to pull me in towards the van," the woman, who wished remain anonymous for safety concerns, told NBC 5.
She said she began fighting, screaming loudly as the man beat her head, but she maintained her grip on the door.
That's when a passenger got out of a nearby Lyft vehicle and confronted the suspect. The Lyft driver attempted to pin the minivan in, but the suspect ultimately drove away. The minivan was later recovered by police, according to authorities.
Video from a nearby camera captured images of the minivan in question, and the harrowing scene as the Lyft driver and passenger approached.
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"The Samaritans were the people who came to my side. And that's when he got scared and got into the van and drove off," the woman told NBC 5. “if it wasn't for them, I would have been toast, for sure.”
The suspect is said to be between 30 and 40 years old and approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall to 6 feet tall. At the time, he was wearing a white baggy sweatshirt rolled up to the elbows with dark writing on the front and grey baggy sweatpants, police stated.
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Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Area Three Detectives at 312-744-8261. Tips can also be submitted anonymously at cpdtip.com
