Single dad Eric Streeval stepped into Twice Daily Gas Station to grab a drink when he saw a woman at the end of the candy aisle mouthing the word "help" while using a hand signal to alert other people that she was being kidnapped, a method she learned on Tiktok.
Streeval took his drink, paid for it at the counter, and notified the cashiers to call the cops as there was a woman in the back in a red and white striped t-shirt who was possibly being abused, the Epoch Times says.
The tense rescue moment
Streeval noted that the woman had a red handprint on the side of her face, a sign of physical abuse. He then took pictures of the truck's license plate while the cashiers tried to stall the suspect. When the couple emerged from the gas station, Streeval confronted the suspect after calling 911.
He told him that hitting women is not okay, and if he wants to fight, fight a man but do not beat up on a woman. The suspect, 31-year-old Jonathan Smith, did not respond to Streeval's attempts to stall, leaving him from leaving before the sheriff's department could arrive.
The suspect rode on his truck, and just as he was pulling out, the sheriff's department arrived, leading to the car chase.
Smith was the woman's ex-boyfriend, and they got into an altercation when they were in the truck. The girl wanted to get out of the truck, but Smith threatened the woman with a screwdriver. She told her that if he could not have her, then nobody could.
The pursuit lasted for 15 minutes, and it ended with a foot chase after the suspect crashed the truck into the creek. The woman was not injured.
Smith was caught and was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic assault.
Hand signaling technique
According to The Observers, the Canadian Women's Foundation made the hand gesture at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The signal is meant to give people stuck at home with abusive partners an avenue to call for help.
Many anti-human trafficking organizations, such as Awake and Bold of North Carolina, launched an education initiative that teaches hand signals to empower victims and alert bystanders about the kidnapping or a trafficking situation.
Streeval said he located the woman on Facebook and met with her so he could give her the contact information of people who could be of help if she gets in trouble again.
The single father said that he helped the girl because if ever her daughter, mother, and sisters were in the same situation, somebody would also help them. He also advised women to speak up, citing that many domestic abuse victims in Tennessee are too afraid to speak out.
He said he credits the lady for being courageous enough to speak out; he tells Yahoo! News.
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