Crime & Safety
Gas Station Clerk Credited With Saving Woman Who Mouthed 'Help'
The Kangaroo Express worker dialed 911 on Sunday when a woman sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot started mouthing "help."
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Authorities are crediting a gas station clerk in Jacksonville with saving a woman's life after he saw her mouth the word "help" and dialed 911.
The woman was sitting in a vehicle on the 13,000 block of Beach Boulevard on Sunday when the worker saw her ask for help, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said in a post on Facebook. The station is located in Golden Glades/The Woods neighborhood.
The worker immediately called 911 and gave police an accurate description of what he'd just witnessed.
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Police tried to pull over the vehicle on Atlantic Boulevard, but the driver, identified as Jose Ramos Sandoval, recklessly took off and led police on a chase, authorities said. It ended at Leon Road and Byrnes Road and Sandoval was apprehended.
The woman in the vehicle later told police she had been walking from one local beach pub to another when Sandoval pulled up and offered her a ride, authorities said. Thinking he was a friend of one of her acquaintances, she accepted.
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But they didn't go to the second pub.
Instead, Sandoval drove her away from the beach area and pulled into the Kangaroo Express gas station, authorities said. Fearing for her own safety, she tried to get out of the vehicle but Sandoval grabbed her hair and forced her to stay, the office said.
"He refused to let her leave," the sheriff's office said in the Facebook post. "The victim was fearful for her safety, realizing that he was attempting to keep her confined to the vehicle. She felt as if mouthing 'help' to the Kangaroo employee was her only chance of escape."
Authorities say the suspect admitted to the incident during questioning. The suspect, identified as Jose Ramos Sandoval, was arrested on charges false imprisonment, fleeing police, and violation of probation.
"A big thank you to the alert employee at this gas station. Getting involved makes a difference, we can't thank you enough," the office said.
Photo credit: Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; Screenshot of Google Maps
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