A girl’s quick thinking may have just saved her life.
A girl’s quick thinking may have just saved her life.
An 11-year-old girl was on her way to a Saturday program at a nearby middle school in Queens, New York, when a man approached her.
Reylin Estrada offered her a ride. When she refused, he allegedly chased her for four blocks. He eventually blocked her in with his car, according to The Daily News.
The girl began to kick and scream, while Estrada allegedly tried to shove her into the back of his Honda Civic.
The commotion caught the attention of a neighbor, Alex Salas. who watched the incident unfold through his window.
“He grabbed her by the book bag and he brought her down.” Salas told the paper. “He had the bat over her and he had her down. It was just nerve-racking. (There was) no way in the world I was going to let him leave.”
Salas told his wife to call police, before rushing downstairs with his bat.
At that point, Salas and 40-year-old Estrada both had bats and were squaring off, according to the Daily News.
Salas’ landlord, 59-year-old Edwin Gonzalez, caught wind of the commotion and joined in.
“I heard him screaming, let go of the little girl! Let go of the little girl!” Gonzalez recalled.
“I pulled out my cane. This is oak wood and won’t break at all. We were ready to take him and do what we had to do to prevent the little girl from getting kidnapped.”
Authorities say Estrada is a registered sex offender who allegedly attacked a woman in the same neighborhood in 2001.
Police charged Estrada with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, acting in a manner injurious to a child and weapons possession.
Estrada’s mother, Jasmine, said her son is mentally ill and had recently stopped taking his medication.
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