Tacoma woman run over in attempted kidnapping
TACOMA, Wash. -- A young Tacoma woman is out of intensive care and improving after being run over in a Friday morning abduction attempt.
Police are on the hunt for the man who ran down Hang Hoang and tried to pull her into his truck as she walked home from work Friday morning just after 5 a.m.
Hoang is in fair condition after the ordeal, and police are crediting a good Samaritan for foiling the abduction attempt.
Hoang's mother, Toy Dengkhounxay, can't believe what happened to her daughter.
"I believe she must be really scared," Dengkhounxay said.
As she walked along 72nd St. E., Hoang noticed a truck following her. She tried hiding next to a Goodwill store, but the man sped up and hit her from behind.
"When the guy is chasing her and hit her, she's lucky she's still alive," Dengkhounxay said.
Just as the kidnapper was trying to pull her into his truck, a good Samaritan heard the commotion and scared the man away.
"He said 'what are you doing?' and then my daughter said 'help me, help me,'" Dengkhounxay said.
If not for the good Samaritan, police say the whole thing could have turned out much worse.
"It was quite a blessing that this person was there in the parking lot that heard this commotion and came around," said Tacoma police officers Naveed Benjamin.
Police are now looking for a dark-skinned man believed to be roughly 6-feet tall with a slender build and short curly hair. The man was wearing dark blue clothing at the time of the attack. He was driving a dark blue 1990s Chevy pickup with stripes and possibly a broken back window.
Police and Hoang's mother are also hoping to find the good Samaritan.
"(I would say) thank you," Dengkhounxay said. "I want to see him in person to thank him."
She said without his actions, Hoang's 2-year-old son, Sylas, would be without a mother.
Police say the best thing to do when you think you're being followed is to get to a place that's open where people are and call 911.
Police are on the hunt for the man who ran down Hang Hoang and tried to pull her into his truck as she walked home from work Friday morning just after 5 a.m.
Hoang is in fair condition after the ordeal, and police are crediting a good Samaritan for foiling the abduction attempt.
Hoang's mother, Toy Dengkhounxay, can't believe what happened to her daughter.
"I believe she must be really scared," Dengkhounxay said.
As she walked along 72nd St. E., Hoang noticed a truck following her. She tried hiding next to a Goodwill store, but the man sped up and hit her from behind.
"When the guy is chasing her and hit her, she's lucky she's still alive," Dengkhounxay said.
Just as the kidnapper was trying to pull her into his truck, a good Samaritan heard the commotion and scared the man away.
"He said 'what are you doing?' and then my daughter said 'help me, help me,'" Dengkhounxay said.
If not for the good Samaritan, police say the whole thing could have turned out much worse.
"It was quite a blessing that this person was there in the parking lot that heard this commotion and came around," said Tacoma police officers Naveed Benjamin.
Police are now looking for a dark-skinned man believed to be roughly 6-feet tall with a slender build and short curly hair. The man was wearing dark blue clothing at the time of the attack. He was driving a dark blue 1990s Chevy pickup with stripes and possibly a broken back window.
Police and Hoang's mother are also hoping to find the good Samaritan.
"(I would say) thank you," Dengkhounxay said. "I want to see him in person to thank him."
She said without his actions, Hoang's 2-year-old son, Sylas, would be without a mother.
Police say the best thing to do when you think you're being followed is to get to a place that's open where people are and call 911.
Learn about changes coming to commenting