JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — STORY: Church compensates Outback server who lost job, stiffed on $735 order
A Jacksonville convenience store clerk called police and helped save a woman after he saw her mouth "help," according to police.
The woman was sitting in a car in the parking lot of the Kangaroo Express at 13697 Beach Boulevard just after 1 a.m. Sunday, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
JSO says after seeing the woman mouth "help," the clerk called 911 and gave police an accurate vehicle description, which was broadcast to all officers in the area.
Police said an officer saw the car on Atlantic Boulevard and tried to stop it. The driver fled from police and was arrested after the pursuit ended at Leon Road and Byrnes Road.
The woman was still in the car. She told police she was walking from one beach bar to another when the suspect, Jose Ramos Sandoval, pulled up to her and asked if she needed a ride.
The woman told police she thought Sandoval was friends with a friend of hers, so she accepted the ride. She later realized she did not know him, according to JSO.
The woman said once she was in the car, Sandoval started driving away from her destination.
They left the beaches area and pulled into the Kangaroo at Hodges Boulevard and Beach Boulevard.
The woman tried to leave the car but Sandoval reached over, grabbed her hair and stopped her from getting out, JSO said.
The woman told police she felt mouthing "help" to the Kangaroo employee was her only chance of escape.
Police said Sandoval admitted to the incident. He was arrested on accusations of false imprisonment, fleeing police and violation of probation.
The Sheriff's Office thanked the alert gas station clerk for his help in rescuing the woman.
"Getting involved makes a difference, we can't thank you enough," JSO wrote on Facebook.