Posted: 19:22, 14 April 2022 | Updated: 23:35, 14 April 2022
Deputies were able to rescue a kidnapped Tennessee woman after she reportedly used a secret TikTok hand signal to alert a gas station employee that she had a problem.
An unidentified Hickman county woman was visiting her brother when her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Jonathan Smith, picked her up in his truck and “got into a physical altercation,” Lt. Mike Doddo of the county sheriff’s office told The Tennessee. .
While driving on the highway, Smith threatened the victim and refused to let him out, police said.
“The girlfriend then asked to be let out. He said, “No,” said Dodo. “(Smith) then threatened to kill her by grabbing a screwdriver and telling her, if he could not have her, no one could have her.
Smith drove the victim to a Twice Daily gas station and they both got inside.
While there, the woman put her thumb on her hand with four fingers on it and showed the gesture to the gas station clerk, Dodo said.
The hand signal, which looks like a clenched fist, appears on many TikTok accounts and is designed to show others that the signalman is suffering from domestic abuse.
31-year-old Johnathon Smith (pictured) charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic assault
After being chased by a Hickman County Sheriff’s officer, Smith’s truck crashed into a creek
Smith fled on foot before being captured shortly afterwards
The hand signal, which looks like a clenched fist, appears on many TikTok accounts and is designed to indicate that the signalman is suffering from domestic abuse.
The officer picked up the signal and called police and tried to stop for an hour as they were leaving, but Smith learned what was happening and left the gas station with the victim, police said.
As Smith left, a Hickman County Sheriff’s officer entered the gas station and was chased for 15 minutes before Smith’s truck crashed into a creek.
After the crash, Smith fled on foot, but was arrested and arrested.
The police charged the 31-year-old with a distinguished abduction and a serious domestic attack.
The victim was not injured in the collision, police said.
While the victim was rescued using the hand signal, he also showed that he was in distress by saying the words “help” to Eric Strival, who is a member of a motorcycle group that helps women in situations of domestic violence – and who just happened to be a customer at the gas station. .
“If you see something, say something,” Strival told Fox 56. “Domestic violence is bad here in Tennessee.
“Victims are often very afraid to talk. And I credit the young lady in this situation that she had the greatest courage in the world to really speak, because who knows what would have happened. “
After the crash, Smith fled on foot, but was checked and arrested.
While the victim was rescued using the hand signal, he also indicated that he was in danger by saying the words “help” to Eric Streeval (pictured)
Since then, Streeval has contacted the victim on social media and offered advice and local resources.
“I would tell her to rely on the family if she has a family or if she finds a complete stranger,” he said.
“If anyone is willing to listen, talk to them. Do not think that everything is gathered inside. “Address someone and just believe in the good in someone.”
