Woman escapes kidnappers who couldn’t drive stick shift

A kidnapping victim was able to escape her abductors when they were unable to drive her stick shift car.

Three men emerged from the darkness early Wednesday morning and pushed Jordan Dinsmore to the ground threatening her with a gun, according to The State.

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The men took her phone and purse, then forced her into the back of her 2009 Scion when they realized it was a manual transmission that none of them could operate.

"I was pleading with them to just take my stuff and let me go, but they said that I had to come with them," Dinsmore told The State.

One of the men fled on foot. The other two made Dinsmore, 20, drive to an ATM to withdraw money. She gave them $300 and again asked them to let her go. They told her to drive to a house where they were going to force her to have sex with one of their friends.

Dinsmore saw her opportunity to escape as she headed through an intersection to the address at roughly 35 mph. She kept the car in neutral and jumped out of the moving car.

“I just screamed, ‘Call 911! Call 911! Someone just kidnapped me and threatened to shoot me!’” Dinsmore said.

A driver stopped and helped. The men fled and are being sought by investigators. Dinsmore is working with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.

Dinsmore is thankful to be safe.

“I am going to be driving a manual for the rest of my life,” she said.

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