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Fifty thousand people will be carjacked this year. Someone is assaulted ever 34 seconds in America. Are you putting yourself at risk without even realizing it? There are some simple things you should know that could save your life.
"There was a guy running around in the middle of the road … and he stopped in front of my car," carjacking victim, Sara Cripps said..
"I left my windows down and I didn't lock my doors. I saw a lady with a pool stick in the middle of the street and I saw her start coming towards me," a carjacking victim, who wishes to remain unnamed, said.
"I was sitting in my car. I sat there just about a minute, gathering my things and I looked up and I saw somebody approaching my car," carjacking victim, Charity Gibson, said.
Three women -- attacked in their cars.
"He ran around to my driver side door and tried to open it," said Cripps. "The next thing I knew, she had gotten into the back seat of my car," said the unnamed victim. "I got out to approach this person, or to see what this person wanted, and when I did, there was a gun on me immediately," Gibson said.
Three women who survived carjackings.
Cripps got away from a man police say is responsible for a string of carjackings. "He wouldn't let go of my door, so I gunned it," said Cripps.
"She tussled and tussled until she got into the front seat of the car," said the unnamed victim. This woman -- still too scared to reveal her identity -- jumped out of the car. A few hours later, her attacker was involved in a deadly accident. "The next thing I heard she had killed someone and injured herself seriously."
But Gibson's escape was not as quick. "He says 'give me your purse, give me your purse,' and yelling at me and I told him, 'I don't have a purse.' My hands went immediately up. He moved closer, he put the gun to my stomach," said Gibson.
She was forced into the trunk of her car. "All this was going through my mind … you get into the car, you're dead, you're dead, you're dead!" said Gibson.
She climbed inside … remembering reading about an emergency trunk release in her owner's manual. "He backed the car up and I thought, 'I could pull it now and I could jump out and run and what's he going to do? Put the car in park and shoot me,'" said Gibson. Locked in darkness, Gibson planned her escape. "I felt him slow down. I pulled the trunk release. A light went off in the car that the trunk was ajar. It scared him. I just pushed the trunk open and jumped out," said Gibson.
She saw a car slow down behind her, but something wasn't right -- she took off running in the opposite direction to a nearby home and called 911. As it turns out, the car behind her was her carjacker's accomplice. Gibson believes her faith helped her keep calm and ultimately saved her life.
Are you ready to come face-to-face with a carjacker? A mugger? An attacker? Are we doing everything we can to keep safe? Detective Christine Elias doesn't think so. "First and foremost, you need to pay attention to your surroundings," Detective Elias said.
Safety starts with a game plan. "You need to think, especially if you are going into work, 'Is it going to be dark when I am leaving?' And you need to consider parking by a light source," Detective Elias said.
And think through your approach to the car. "I am walking with a purpose. My head's up I am looking around. I look under the car as I approach it. As I walk up to the door, I kind of look in the back to make sure that there's nothing wrong with the interior of the car. My hands are free, I'm not text messaging anyone, I don't have lots of things with me. I just open up my car and get inside safely," said Detective Elias.
Police say, if someone asks for your purse, don't just hand it to them … toss it away from you and run the other way. Also, do not get into your car and just sit there talking on the phone or fumbling with your wallet. Get into your car, lock the doors and drive away quickly.
"Always lock your doors and be very aware of what's going on around you," said Cripps.
"My instinct told me to jump out of the car and I think you should always follow your instinct," the unnamed victim said.
"I knew if I didn't get out of this situation it was not going to be a good outcome and I didn't want to stick around to find out what was going to happen," said Gibson.
Advice from women who escaped, so we can also protect ourselves from the dangers of the street.
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