Bad hitch in Mass

[wacocelt]

On August the 20th I was attempting to hitch to Lee from Dalton Mass to stay with a friend for a few days of rest and relaxation. I recieved a ride which went very very wrong. I ended up being dragged along side a van then tumbling onto the pavement doing 20'ish miles an hour. My injuries include a large gash on my head requiring 9 staples and a gouge on the side of my right knee requiring 4 stitches. The person who was driving the van has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping.

I am a 6' tall very athletic 30 something former military male who will be very cautious from now on and will no longer hitch alone. I'm not trying to scare anyone unecessarily, I just want to stress caution to anyone and everyone who may be hitching.

[Hammock Hanger]

On August the 20th I was attempting to hitch to Lee from Dalton Mass to stay with a friend for a few days of rest and relaxation. I recieved a ride which went very very wrong. I ended up being dragged along side a van then tumbling onto the pavement doing 20'ish miles an hour. My injuries include a large gash on my head requiring 9 staples and a gouge on the side of my right knee requiring 4 stitches. The person who was driving the van has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping.

I am a 6' tall very athletic 30 something former military male who will be very cautious from now on and will no longer hitch alone. I'm not trying to scare anyone unecessarily, I just want to stress caution to anyone and everyone who may be hitching.

Can you give some more info on how and why the driver dragged you?? Was there an altercation?? Just trying to get a feel for what went wrong. That said I'm glad you are okay. Sue

[wacocelt]

Sorry HH, I wasn't trying to be cryptic, I'm somewhat ebarassed by the whole thing honestly. Anyway, here's the story.

I got a ride from a mid 50's fellow in a white van, after about 10 minutes he began suggesting we could 'spend a few hours together' before I met with my friends. He said quite a bit more as well, but nothing that needs repeating here. I politely declined his advances, but he continued, so I asked him to pull over and let me out, telling him I'de give him gas money for his troubles. We were at the intersection of 8 and 20, near Lee when I first tried to exit the vehicle, he quickly accelerated to prevent me from getting out. He began to apologize for making me nervous or for offending me. I turned to face him in my seat, prepared to make him stop if necessary, he finally relented and pulled over. When I got out I had my right hand on the handle of the passenger door, keeping it open while I opened the side door to get my pack. As soon as I reached inside he floored the gas pedal, and began to yell at me which yanked me off balance, pinning my left arm in the side door. I was dragged for a few seconds as he continued to accelerate, then got my feet under me for a brief monet, just enough to get my arm free. Unfortunately he had attained a fair amount of speed and I was slammed to the pavement then tumbled to a stop.
Some passing motorists stopped to render aid, as I was bleeding profusely from the head. While they were helping me the white van stopped across the road and the guy yelled that he had thrown my pack out a mile or so down the road, then he drove away again. Just before the police arrived one of the ladies helping pointed out the van parked about tenth of a mile away, so when the police arrived they quickly apprehended him.

All in all I'm a bit banged up, stitches, staples, pulled muscles and tendons and a mild concussion, but I'm in good spirits and will continue hiking when the staples are out.

[Hammock Hanger]

I am so sorry to hear your tale. Ya know as women we feel we are the only ones that need to worry about "that" kind of stuff.

Again I am glad that you were able to out of the vehicle but sorry you were hurt.

Thank you for sharing. Sue/HH

[rickb]

Hang in there.

Not that you are thinking about this right now (how could you help but be shaken up), if you are laid up for a while you might want to talk to a local attorney. Not only because you may be hard for the authorities to reach when you are back on the AT, but also to recover civil damages.

Keep in mind that anything you post here might make your advocates' job more difficult.

Sorry that this happened to you.

Rick B

[kyhipo]

I am sorry to hear that happened ,its the truth though some people find hikers easy targets for some peculiar reason . ky

[soulrebel]

That is F Crazy!! I thought about ditching the wife's jogger fogger pepper spray in her kit, but now I'm thinking I might like a lil red eye action in my own setup...

and UL'er's it doubles as tabasco sauce--so it has potential..

[TJ aka Teej]

I hope your head heals quickly, WacoCelt. Thanks for telling your story here, it's an important reminder for everyone.

[justusryans]

Dude, sorry to hear that, You know hypothetically, you could go bail the guy out then "discuss" the error of his ways! hypothetically! Not that I'm condoning that kind of behavior mind you.

[Sly]

Invite the dude to Trail Days! Good to hear you'll be OK, Chris.

[Clark Fork]

Bad... Great you have the courage to keep on trucking. A good attitude. Hope healing is on the way. So many depend on hitching, I hope that yahoo gets his due to the full extent of the law. Don't hesitate to ask for transportation help if you need to go back for the hearing. Those that don't live in the area can help in other ways. Just let us know. I sure would like to help somehow.

Perhaps we can come up with some ideas for the future:

Makes you think, you should write the license plate down before getting into car or truck. With digital cameras, not a bad idea to snap off a shot of the rear end of the car making sure you can read the plate.

Give your self time to conduct an interview before jumping in. Just pass the time, weather etc. No need to rush to jump in. Surprising what instincts will do.Trust your judgment.

If you hitch, tell someone you are going to hitch and where you are heading.

Always tell the driver you are going to meet someone. You most likely are or at least going to phone someone.

Yes, be assertive. If it isn't right ask, to be let off. Trail Journals are full of stories of Yahoos who think they are on the track when they take you to town or to the trail head.

Probably some other suggestions out there.

Good luck....

Clark Fork in Western Montana.

[generoll]

I doubt Waco needs any advice. It sounds as if he did everything right, just the luck of a bad draw. I used to hitch a lot in my younger days and invariably got picked up by some guy with romance on his mind whenver I was near a big city. Just lucky I guess that they all took no for an answer.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience and I'm glad that it didn't turn out any worse. Good luck and good health to you.

Gene

[jigsaw]

sorry to hear about this hope your doing o.k as a resident of lee and a father of two i hope the courts put this guy where he belongs .if you need any help getting back on the trail or to court let me know i'll do anything i can to help you out. jigsaw

[saimyoji]

Glad to hear your doin okay.

This guy is IMO a violent sexual predator and should be castrated, fed his genitals and electrocuted. Who knows what horrors he's done in the past or will do in the future.

[Lone Wolf]

I'm surprised you let the p***k live. His day will come. Glad you're somewhat OK.

[Israel]

wow- sorry to hear this story. As one who hitched a good bit back in the day when i was younger I have had a few very odd and unpleasant experiences. Somehow though nothing major like your event happened. I would probably think twice about hitching for a long haul again- too many chances for something bad to happen. I guess the shield of invincibility that I had as a youth has somewhat worn off!

Glad you are ok and nothing too serious happened!

[DMA, 2000]

Interesting. In California an automobile is not generally considered a deadly weapon.

Glad to hear you are ok. Sounds like you're lucky to be alive. Every time I hitch I can't help but have paranoid (but not unreasonable for all that) thoughts of such events happening, but I've been lucky...a few kooks not whithstanding.

[TOW]

i am truly glad you are here to tell us the story....is there any news accounts of this?

[canoehead]

as a local / ridgerunner i have hiked the state mass/conn many times and never had any thing close to this happen. glad you kept your head on and was able to do what needed to be done, and that passerbys were there to help.. i'ts nice to know hes off the street...if you pass this way again give a shout, i'll be happy to hike or shuttle with ya.

safe adventures
canoehead

[icemanat95]

Interesting. In California an automobile is not generally considered a deadly weapon.

Glad to hear you are ok. Sounds like you're lucky to be alive. Every time I hitch I can't help but have paranoid (but not unreasonable for all that) thoughts of such events happening, but I've been lucky...a few kooks not whithstanding.

Deadly weapon's statutes exist to fill the gap left by improvised weapons which are not detailed in other laws. If you pick up a scrap of angle iron for instance...it is not a deadly weapon in and of itself, but the second you pick it up and brandish it at another person, it becomes one. A motor vehicle is definitely a deadly weapon when used in the manner described. It is a way of upping the ante on a person who commits a crime by adding charges to their arrest record.

Kidnapping is a reach though...that's a scare tactic...they would have a real hard time proving that one to the legal definition and within precedents.

As far as suggestions about doing the guy bodily harm...why bother. When the guy hits prison he will be subjected to all manner of ill use by other inmates, no sense dirtying yourself on his account.

You did the right thing under the circumstances. Press charges, make the court dates and put the guy in the slammer.