My dog, Griff, could have saved my life today. The truth is I’ll probably never know for sure. Despite writing about abductions and murders, I ignored my intuition and pulled over when a man insisted something was wrong with my tire. Dumb decision, I know.
Spoiler alert: Nothing was wrong with my tire.
Spent two hours having it checked out this afternoon.
It’s the oldest trick in the book used by criminals.
I guess I’m lucky to be alive.
I should have known better.
I have AAA.
I was only a couple of miles from home.
I’m thankful that nothing terrible happened and that I can learn from the experience. Maybe you’ll read this and share this with someone you love and learn something too.
I had a vet appointment today for Griff, and he was riding along in a dog bed in the passenger seat of my vehicle. I usually take the back roads to the vet, but I was running a little late and decided to take interstate for a couple of miles to save a few minutes on the trip.
My jaunt on Interstate 64 was literally only two miles, from one exit to the next. As a result, I was travelling a little slower than normal behind a semi truck. I didn’t see any need to pass him since I was getting off the next exit.
It wasn’t long before a white pickup truck was right beside me, matching my slow speed. I didn’t look over, but thought it was odd that they were in the passing lane and still going under the speed limit. I tapped my brakes to further slow down so they would move on and glanced over when they didn’t. The person was trying to get me to put down my window. I ignored that request.
I took the exit as planned to go to my vet, and the driver in the white truck quickly moved from the passing lane to the exit and followed me off the interstate flashing his high beams behind me to get my attention.
When I stopped to turn left at the interstate exit, he pulled alongside me on the right and signaled to me to put down my window.
I know I shouldn’t have, but I put it down.
The man said that he noticed my back left tire was “wobbly” and asked if I had recently had tire work done. When I said no, he offered to check the lug nuts for me.
I should have said no and driven straight to my vet’s office, but once again, I didn’t.
I pulled over to take him up on his offer.
He pulled his truck in front of my Jeep and walked back to the tire where he appeared to check the lug nuts. He said they were fine.
Griff sat on my lap, curious as to what was happening and why we stopped.
The man said maybe something was bent and said something along the lines of, “I hope I didn’t scare you.”
Our interaction didn’t last much longer than that. I put up my window and did a U-turn to head back toward my vet.
The entire interaction lasted approximately three minutes. It was fast.
I didn’t look in my rearview mirror. I don’t know if he got back on interstate.
I consider myself lucky. Griff was laying down in the dog bed beside me when the man signaled to me that something was wrong. I have to think that maybe Griff could be the reason that nothing bad happened.
He’s not scary by any means. Sixteen pounds of fluff. I’m going to say he was my good luck charm.
I shared my experience with the police through a non-emergency email. My gut said that I should tell them in case another woman reports something similar happening to them.
All I could think of was Alicia Showalter Reynolds, who was abducted and murdered more than 30 years ago in Culpeper County. She was spotted on the side of Route 29 with a man in a dark-colored pickup truck. After her death, other women came forward and said a white male had stopped them or attempted to stop them on the same stretch of highway. Despite more than 10,000 tips to police, her case has never been solved.
I’d like to believe the man who stopped me today was a good Samaritan.
He was dressed nice, and his appearance and demeanor didn’t raise any red flags to me. He wasn’t aggressive in any way.
Chatting with a sheriff’s deputy tonight, I realized that everything I described is a common ruse used by criminals in abduction cases: from the so-called tire issue to flashing high beams and trying to imply the situation was an emergency.
I wasn’t very good with details: the man was about my age, in khakis and a polo shirt with a pen in his shirt pocket. He was driving a white truck with construction insignia, but I didn’t pay attention to the name of the construction company, and I hadn’t gotten a license plate.
I knew better, and I still did everything wrong. I’d like to think that next time, I’d handle it differently. I’m thankful I’ll have the chance.
Tips for women in a similar situation
Tips for when an unknown person signals for you to pull over:
- Trust your instincts.
- Do not stop immediately.
- Turn on your hazards and drive to a well-lit public area or to a police or fire station.
- If you are being targeted by an individual (not law enforcement), honk your horn and draw attention to your vehicle.
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Crystal Graham
