HOUSTON (KPRC/CNN) – While walking to school, a 17-year-old says a man tried to kidnap her, but she was able to get away, chase him down and get him arrested, with the help of mother and daughter good Samaritans.
The 17-year-old, who did not want her identity revealed, says the incident happened Thursday morning, as she was walking to her Houston high school.
In broad daylight, a man pulled up in a truck and tried to take her, she says.
"Everything happened so fast. It was like if it were life or death," the victim said. "He grabbed my arm, actually, telling me to get into the truck.”
The victim pulled back from the man and was able to get away, just as another teenager and her mother were pulling up.
"It's like if they were my angels at that moment," the victim said.
The 17-year-old told the good Samaritans what happened. Instead of waiting for police, the trio took off in the car and followed the man’s truck for several blocks, even as he blew through stop signs.
They recorded video the entire time, and the shaken victim also had a chance to speak to her father and explain what had happened.
Eventually, the man ran out of road after hitting the vehicle chasing him.
"When the guy hit the door, he lost control and immediately fell in the ditch," one good Samaritan said.
Police arrived and arrested the man, identified as Daniel Zapata, who already had a long rap sheet.
The victim says she’s thankful for the mother and daughter who helped save her and chase down Zapata.
"I just thought he was going to kill me or rape me. I have no words for what happened. I'm just glad that I'm OK," she said.
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