Murder in SC

One thing I would try to convey is that all the polite rules of society are out the window. Sometimes these things end up bad because the victim subconsciously thinks they can't "break the rules".
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This is a key point by peetzakilla. People often have a really hard time recognizing that what is happening right now is an emergency and it's time to act using the rules of an emergency. I am a novice to firearms and a newcomer to this column but have often involved myself in emergencies and taken action or caused others to take action when they didn't seem to realize an emergency was taking place. In our normal lives we don't live close to the edge of disaster and acting as if things are an emergency seems like an embarrassing overreaction. It takes a conscious effort to counter that thinking.

So the most important thing you can do for someone at the other end of that call (beyond the practical help pax suggested), I think, is to give them the social permission to act like a genuine emergency is taking place.
 
if no gun in the car. call 911 and leave the phone on the seat so you can have both ahnds to drive. if the follower begins to get aggressive. YOU be the aggressor. try to run HIM off the road. make him rear end you, put it in reverse anything. Not sure what kind of car she had, but this kind of behavior is not expected from a victim, and a car (any car) is a deadly weapon, especially once HE gets out of HIS car.
 
Call 911 immediately, you never know where an off duty cop, or game warden, tax agent, whoever, will be on the roads and listening to his radio.

I would tell them to "air bag" him if he tried to run them off the road. By that I mean stand on the brakes and/or take the car out of gear and crank the parking brake on (brake lights don't come on, and the car behind you doesn't see it coming). This will often disable the other vehicle by deploying the airbags, destroying the radiator, and most cars have a fuel cutoff switch that is impact activated.

I would also tell them to get some sort of weapon out of the car, nail file, tire wrench, hair spray as makeshift pepper spray, whatever. Use it. Stab him in the eyeball wth a nail file. The gloves are off.
 
I think a “situational awareness” course should be drilled into every school child.

I suspect most people are walking around without a clue about what is going on around them and the thought of carrying a firearm for protection is only for those paranoid gun people.

If you are about to die a violent death at the hands of others, I pray that your last thought isn’t “If I only had a firearm, I would survive this”. Be ARMED, it’s your constitutional right.
 
I don't think I could get off the phone with them until I found out were loved one was at and where they were heading.

Then I would advise them to call 911

I would call 911 - give descriptions

I would grab my range bag and shotgun and start heading toward them.

I would call them back or try to call them back.

Part of the being run off the road thing is a natural tendency to avoid accidents - so when a car gets too close to you - you swerve away from it, but I'd also tell loved one not to stop even if there is a collision, and don't let yourself be run off the road - put your wheels hard into the other car if necesary, you're better off with a collision in the middle of the road than you being off to the side of the road unseen.

I'd also tell her even if you have to put it in reverse and tear your front end off - don't stop and don't get out of your car.

Like peetzakilla said:

If your car goes off the road you don't stop until its disabled. Mailboxes, fences, sheep, run them over. Lay on the horn, nonstop. Run red lights if you can and have to... None of that matters right then.
 
pax said:
"...All true, so sadly true.

So what would you tell your wife or your daughter if she called you in a situation like this? What advice would you give her? What questions would you ask and what would you do with the information?"
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Kathy,

IMO this is one of the scenarios in which a onboard communications service such as OnStar really shines. To answer your question, I would advise my (wife/neice) to punch the OnStar button, declare an emergency, and have them dial 911. The GPS feature establishes her exact location with respect to local law enforcement.

It also allows the 911 operator (not me) to ask questions regarding the pursuer.

I would also advise them to be prepared to use the handgun they have with them if any attempt is made to stop the vehicle (or other imminent threat). As far as I'm concerned, running someone off the road is assault with a deadly weapon - to wit, the adversary's vehicle.

I concur with many previous remarks as well regarding the situation being a lethal force scenario and giving yourself permission to fight with no holds barred. Most civilians have never used their own vehicles as weapons, and perhaps in a scenario such as the one you've posted, her own vehicle may well have been the best weapon available to the young lady at the moment she was attacked.
 
Something that came to mind after reading that cornered cat link:

There's almost always SOME traffic on the road. What if you just waited until you saw a line of cars coming, then pulled across the oncoming lane, blocking both lanes? Not sudden enough to cause an accident, but enough to get 4 or 5 cars to stop. It would get the attention of several witnesses.

You'd have a bunch of people angry with you, and your attacker would play dumb, and make you out to be a paranoid nutcase. But you'd be alive.
 
There's almost always SOME traffic on the road. What if you just waited until you saw a line of cars coming,
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I don't know about South Carolina, but I wouldn't count on that happening here.

My truck broke down while hunting one year. I made it to the Highway (450 between Newcastle and Wright) about 7 PM. Started hitch hiking. The second car that came by stopped. That was 2 AM,
 
There's almost always SOME traffic on the road. What if you just waited until you saw a line of cars coming, then pulled across the oncoming lane, blocking both lanes? Not sudden enough to cause an accident, but enough to get 4 or 5 cars to stop. It would get the attention of several witnesses.
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Bad idea....... The person in the oncoming car could panic and swerve into YOUR lane. Head on collisions are deadly at highway speeds. I'd rather take my chances being run off the road.

If run off the road, keep driving if possible. When it's not, STAY IN THE CAR. If he tries to get you out of the car, fight with whatever you have ...... DO NOT LEAVE WITH HIM, even if he says he'll kill you, because he will in all likelhood, kill you anyway, after he plays whatever reindeer games he wants to first......

...... I think it is far better to pull over, and if he tries to get you out of the car .....well then, as Lawdog put it so very well, "centerpunch his rotten heart out his spineless back".....

http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/03/she-was-doing-everything-she-was.html
 
Bad idea....... The person in the oncoming car could panic and swerve into YOUR lane. Head on collisions are deadly at highway speeds. I'd rather take my chances being run off the road.
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Hell, head on collisions are deadly at 35. Obviously, I'm not advocating causing a head on collision:

Not sudden enough to cause an accident
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I'd think a 1/4 mile on a straight stretch of highway would be enough to stop traffic, but not enough for a guy to drag a woman out of the car without anyone noticing.
 
I'd think a 1/4 mile on a straight stretch of highway would be enough to stop traffic,
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Think about that: Don't you see people pasing all the time- they are 1/4 mile away and in your lane....... Unless you stayed in the oncoming lane long enough to frighten them (causing the panic reaction above, possibly), then they'll think nothing of it.........
 
I don't think I am painting a very good picture of what I'm talking about. Maybe because I'm tired.

Let's say the lady was driving on a 2 lane rural highway. Let's say she saw a line of oncoming cars, maybe three or four of them. They're maybe a 1/4 mile down the road. Let's say she pulls across and stops, blocking both lanes. Not only are they going to notice, but they're going to have to stop, because she's in the way. They'd have to at least slow down enough to pull off onto the grass to get around her. No way they're not going to notice a guy trying to drag a woman out of a car.

May still be a stupid idea, may not work all the time, obviously won't work in some places out west. Just a thought.
 
If you receive that phone call, what would you say? How would you respond to the victim's plea for help?

This is sound advice from kraigwy: So if I recieved such call from my wife, I would tell her to aim for the closest ranch house she sees, get on the horn and stay on it as she drives into the rancher's yard and he/she comes to their aid.

This is excellent as well: to give them the social permission to act like a genuine emergency is taking place.

I would advise her how serious this is and to use the car as a weapon if necessary.

I would also try to get a bead on her location and start heading there myself asap. I might be able to get there quicker than the cops.
 
The gloves are off.

Indeed. This case is a reminder that we must prepare our loved ones for the day when the gloves do come off.
 
Anything else you guys would do or say as the person on the other end of that frantic phone call?

pax
 
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