The unnamed woman — who was found screaming and bleeding inside a tractor-trailer on Route 130 Wednesday — was injured when her husband hit the brakes to avoid an accident, South Brunswick Police Deputy Chief Jim Ryan said. The woman, who was standing between the cab and the platform bed, was thrown forward and left bleeding and screaming, he said. But a worker from a nearby rental car company who didn’t see the big rig come to a sudden stop, saw the woman bleeding and thought she might have witnessed a kidnapping and called police, Ryan said. “He’s standing in a parking lot and he hears someone yelling ‘help,’” Ryan said, adding that the witness called the police. The confusion prompted a multi-agency search for the truck and, after the media reported the incident, at least 100 calls about possible sightings from Texas to California, Ryan said. A nationwide manhunt for a possible abducted woman in New Jersey was due to a misunderstanding, police say. South Brunswick Police Department Police used surveillance footage, including from local businesses, along with tips to locate the 50-year-old married couple and determine there was no foul play Thursday, Ryan said. “It’s amazing what people can do if they mobilize,” he said. “I’m glad the result was positive.” Despite the strange confusion, he said the witness ultimately did the right thing by reporting the woman in distress. “He saw it really accurately and made some great observations,” Ryan said.
