Kayla Rose, 17, was taking her pet for a stroll before school Thursday morning when she heard muffled shouts and someone crying for help.
A New Jersey teenager walking her dog helped rescue an alleged kidnapping victim who was locked inside the trunk of a parked car, authorities said.
Kayla Rose, 17, was taking her pet for a stroll before school Thursday morning when she heard muffled shouts and someone crying for help.
Rose said, "Hello?" And that's when she heard someone inside the trunk screaming, "Help me, help me, help me!" she told WCBS-TV.
Rose ran to a neighbor, who called 911. Then she went home to summon her mother. Residents stood around the car, waiting for help to arrive.
"She hears scratching and somebody trying to bang, and she's like, 'What is that?''' mom Marie Banks told WABC-TV. "He was shaken up. He was beat up. I guess he was very happy, thankful for my daughter, that she found him."
Neighbor Joe Bollaro told the station he tried to help by grabbing a crowbar and trying to pop open the trunk. "It just bent the metal," he said. "The cops were coming ... I said, 'They're coming, hold on. I said, 'can you breathe?' He said, 'yeah.'''
The alleged victim told Hillside Police officers that two men with handguns forced him to drive to several ATM locations and withdraw cash. He was then locked inside his trunk, he said, until being freed the next day.
Police later arrested JaVohn Berrouet, 24, of Irvington, and charged him with kidnapping, robbery and several weapons offenses, according to the Union County Prosecutor's office. A ski mask and handgun were allegedly found at his home, police said.
Berrouet is being held without bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.
A second suspect is being sought, according to authorities.
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