What Would You Do? (Minus John Quinnones)

[Treo]

What Would You Do? (Minus John Quinnones)
This happened 30 years ago but I think I might handle it differently now. I had no firearm (too young) and no cell phone and I had a friend in the car when it happened so that might change the equation a little. Anyway, this is what happened.

Sitting at a traffic light in Omaha late in the evening with my buddy. A truck pulls across the intersection in our opposite direction. Suddenly it pulls to the curb and young girl jumps out screaming at the driver. She sees my car, runs to it and starts pounding on they glass and yelling, hysterically at us to open the door.
Now in my case I told my buddy to open the door she jumped in and we took off. I never did find out what happened in the car, she just asked us to take her home (across the river in Iowa). We did and I never saw her again. The driver of the truck (maybe her boyfriend?) never got out of the truck.

If it happened today I’d have a few more options that’s for sure. I can’t imagine not drawing if anyone I didn’t know ran towards my car and I would think that would deter the girl if she were a crook. Why press the attack if you’re at a disadvantage? I’d also have the advantage of a cell phone.

How about not opening the door but tell her you're calling the police and that you have a weapon in case the boyfriend decides to come after her?

How would you handle a similar situation today? Would you let her in? Call the cops (not an option when it happened)? Drive away?

[Kalamity023]

To be honest that's a tough call. It would depend on the area I was in. Smart thing to do would be to call the cops and wait in the car until they arrived to straighten things out. 30 years ago was a different time and place than today. It was the norm for people to help each other out. The use of a rouse to rob someone was uncommon if at all. If I was a city today no way would I open myself up to that kind of threat. A rural small town, thats another story; there are a whole host of factors to take into account.

[gsim]

tough call. I have a co-worker whose father was killed years ago by a fake stranded motorist. If someone seemed panicked i'd get them out of there, before figurning it al out. i guess you have to live in the moment and keep yourself covered.

[Treo]

To be honest that's a tough call. It would depend on the area I was in.

I know I was down town but I don't recall it being a bad neighborhood it was more industrial w/ no homes or businesses around

[wolf_fire]

If the truck driver were not getting out of the truck, I'd crack the window and tell her I'm calling the police and to sit tight. I would not let her in my vehicle... to many whack-jobs out there now-a-days.

If the truck driver got out, that would put a twist on things. By calling the police for the girl, I'm now involved in the situation and would feel obligated to help out. My actions toward him would be determined by what he does.

[Treo]

If the truck driver were not getting out of the truck, I'd crack the window and tell her I'm calling the police and to sit tight. I would not let her in my vehicle... to many whack-jobs out there now-a-days.

That makes sense now but I don't think they even had cell phones when this happened ( I think they still had corded carphones)

[Deserteagle]

Unfortunately for the girl, I would not be as nice as you were. I am not a taxi who will drive strangers home, and neither am I a marriage counselor who will involve myself in other couple's problems. If she wasnt injured, and the guy wasnt chasing after her, I dont see what the problem is. If he chased after her, I may let her in. Or if she was injured, I would let her in. Otherwise, get license plate numbers and call police.

I saw this happen the other day. Car stopped at a red light and there was a couple in the car. The guy was the passenger and he jumped out and started walking away as the girl yelled at him to get back in. Not a big deal in my opinion.

[Treo]

I saw this happen the other day. Car stopped at a red light and there was a couple in the car. The guy was the passenger and he jumped out and started walking away as the girl yelled at him to get back in. Not a big deal in my opinion.

It wasn't the same it wasn't a guy it was a young girl, it wasn't the other day it was late at night and it was in downtown Omaha