A New Jersey teenager helped rescue an alleged kidnap victim from inside of a locked car trunk after hearing noises from the vehicle during a morning walk.
Kayla Rose, 17, was walking her dog before school on Thursday morning, when she heard someone crying for help, authorities reported. Rose told CBS New York that initially she “was scared” upon hearing the sounds, but still managed to say “Hello,” to which a man responded, “Hello? Can anybody hear me? Help me, help me!”
READ MORE: Two women living with R. Kelly claim their parents are lying in order to scam him out of money
Rose immediately ran to her neighbor, Joe Bollaro, who tried to help the trapped man out of the trunk with a crowbar, but to no luck. Bollaro then waited outside of the trunk near the victim, while Rose went home to her mother, Marie Banks.
Banks told Inside Edition her daughter came home panic-stricken. “She ran back down the street saying, ‘Mommy, I think I was just in a horror movie.’ When the fire department came, he was tied up in the trunk,” her mother said.
READ MORE: Elijah Cummings seeks testimony of two ex-Trump lawyers over alleged Cohen hush-money payments
Banks also described the details of the rescue to WABC-TV. “She hears scratching and somebody trying to bang, and she’s like, ‘What is that?’ He was shaken up. He was beat up. I guess he was very happy, thankful for my daughter, that she found him,” Banks said.
“I told her, ‘You saved a life.’ You truly saved a life today.”
According to Inside Edition, the alleged victim told Hillside Police officers that two men with handguns forced him to drive to several ATM locations and withdraw cash, before eventually locking him in his trunk. The ordeal was said to have lasted for a total of 12 hours.
Police have a suspect in custody. JaVohn Berrouet, 24, of Irvington, has been charged him with kidnapping, robbery and several weapons offenses, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s office. A reward of $10,000 is also being offered to aid in the arrest of one other suspect.
Berrouet is being held without bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.