I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, and by all measures, when I first moved to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen, I was fairly naïve to urban crime. Less than a year later, my friend Karla came to visit, and on the third day of her trip, we were the victims of a carjacking.
I was driving my father’s gold MG Midget. We parallel parked on a very busy street, went into a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner, and when we were walking back to the car at dusk, a man walked passed us going the opposite way on the sidewalk. Once he had passed us, I gave him no more thought. We got into the car and I pulled out the Thomas Bros. map (yes, this was a long time ago) to look for the best route to some of the tourist attractions in the Los Angeles area. It was a minute or so later that the passenger door opened. To give some indication of how very naïve I was, my first thought was not that we were in danger; I honestly thought that someone was going to ask us for some kind of assistance. Instead, Karla, who was sitting in the passenger seat, started screaming because the man who opened the car door had a handgun. When I screamed in response, he said in a very calm voice, “Don’t scream because I don’t want to use this.” That shut us both up. He continued, “Start the car, leave your purses in the car, get out, and stand on the sidewalk.” I am embarrassed to be honest about what went through my head. I started to think about items in my purse (a class ring, an eyeglass case that my friend Trina handmade for me) that I didn’t want to lose. I remember calculating that it was getting dark, he was on the other side of the car, my purse wasn’t that big, so maybe I could get away with my purse and its contents. It was still on my shoulder, and as I got out of the car, I tried to hide it. He saw the purse, ripped it from my shoulder, hopped into the driver’s seat, and off he went.
Karla was in a state commonly referred to as frozen fear. She was so frightened that she was stuck – not taking full breaths and therefore, not moving or thinking clearly. For whatever reason, I had a different response and began to pull her by the arm back into the restaurant, where I started yelling, “We’ve been robbed! The car was stolen! Somebody call the police!”
We were lucky
The police arrived in just a few minutes, but the car was never recovered. When I tell this story to students in my personal safety seminars, I always mention that we were very lucky.
Here are just a couple of the reasons we were lucky:
He was calm. Many carjackers are amped up because they are committing a crime and are experiencing a rush of adrenaline. Sometimes, also, this rush is drug-induced. Often, people get injured in a carjacking not because the perpetrator planned on injuring them but because they were frustrated that the victims didn’t do what they were told to do efficiently enough – in my case: “Leave your purse in the car.” There was nothing in my purse that was worth my life, but I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time.
He just wanted the car. Though my carjacking experience was scary, neither of us was physically injured or taken from the primary scene. I’m so grateful that he just wanted that sports car. The car and our other personal belongings were all replaceable. Neither of us was abducted or assaulted.
How to Handle a Carjacking:
- Don’t resist; no material belonging is worth your life or wellbeing.
- Remain calm and hand over anything the carjacker requests (except yourself or another person)
- Get as much distance as possible between you and the gun as quickly as possible: run
- Do not remain in the car and travel to another location.
- If you are forced to drive, crash the car at a low speed as safely as possible into a stationary object
How Can We Prevent Carjacking?
As with many crimes, carjackers are looking for targets who don’t see them coming. Whether you are parked or simply stopped at an intersection, be alert to your surroundings.
In my story, we were the perfect targets. We didn’t notice our surroundings, and we just sat in an unlocked car for several minutes. The entire scenario could have been avoided if we had done just two things.
- If I had looked around before we got into the car, we would have seen the man—who had previously been walking away from us— double back and look our way. That might have been enough of a red flag for me to get us out of there.
- We should have locked the doors immediately. We made ourselves into sitting ducks. The chances that he would have used a gun to blow open the door was very low. These days, assailants listen for the click of the automatic door lock. If there’s no click, they can just open up the door and take what they want.
To reduce your risk of being carjacked, please follow these tips, put together by Chris McGoey:
- Always park in well-lighted areas, if you plan to arrive/leave after dark
- Don’t park in isolated or visually obstructed areas near walls or heavy foliage
- As you walk to your car be alert to suspicious persons sitting in cars
- Follow your instincts if they tell you to walk/run away to a busy place
- As you approach your vehicle, look under, around, and inside your car
- If safe, open the door, enter quickly, and lock the doors
- Don’t be a target by turning your back while loading packages into the car
- Make it your habit to always start your car and drive away immediately
- Teach and practice with your children to enter and exit the car quickly
- In the city, always drive with your car doors locked and windows rolled up
- When stopped in traffic, leave room ahead to maneuver and escape, if necessary
- If you are bumped in traffic, by young males, be suspicious of the accident
- Beware of the Good Samaritan who offers to repair your car or a flat tire. It’s okay to get help; just be alert
- Wave to follow, and drive to a gas station or busy place before getting out
- If you are ever confronted by an armed carjacker don’t resist
- Give up your keys or money if demanded without resistance
- Don’t argue, fight or chase the robber. You can be seriously injured
- Never agree to be kidnapped. Drop the cars keys and run and scream for help
- If you are forced to drive, consider crashing your car near a busy intersection to attract attention so bystanders can come to your aid and call the police
- Call the police immediately to report the crime and provide detailed information
For information on our 60-90 minute personal safety seminars, please visit Esteem’s website.
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