MARICOPA, Ariz. — An Arizona woman is sharing her story after she was carjacked and forced to drive at gunpoint by a man in Maricopa Sunday morning.
"I was actually stopping in my neighborhood to turn on my road and my doors were unlocked and he happened to open my car door and jump in and put the gun to my side."
Her 1-year-old daughter was in the backseat. The 20-year-old woman, who is asking to remain unnamed, told police the man asked to be driven to Mesa, so she started driving.
“It was fear. I was scared and I was just trying to focus, keep myself calm to not freak my daughter out,” said the victim.
The young woman says all she could think about was her child. She drove on SR 347 and came up with a plan, telling the man she was running out of gas even though she wasn’t. That’s when she stopped in Chandler.
“I would have done anything I could to keep my daughter safe and I think that was why my instinct was to drive to the Circle K."
As soon as she parked, she began screaming for help.
“All I remember saying was, ‘Get out of my car!'”
A good Samaritan in a car nearby didn’t hesitate to come to her rescue. Police say the man yanked the suspect out of the car.
"So many people will see things and they don't want to get involved. For this gentleman to jump in and help, probably saved this young lady's life and that baby. For him to jump in and take the action he did is nothing less than heroic. We want to know who he is,” said Sgt. Hal Koozer with the Maricopa Police Department.
The accused attacker took off running, so Maricopa police called Chandler police for help. Chandler officers didn’t have to search far. The man, identified as 45-year-old Scott Cascio, was found directly across the street, hiding in a ditch, and was taken into custody. Police say Cascio is facing two kidnapping charges.
“Relieved, because who knows, he could have been waiting to do that to somebody else,” said the victim.
Now, the search is on for the unsung hero. The young woman, like police, wants to give him the thanks he deserves.
"I appreciate that because who knows if he didn't help me what would have happened."
This story was originally published by Ashley Paredez at KNXV.
