CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — A woman who says she was the victim of an attempted abduction outside her home early Saturday morning is now sharing her story.
2 On Your Side's Andy Paden sat down with the woman Sunday. Kelly, a school teacher from Cheektowaga, asked that we not show her face or reveal her full name out of concern for the safety of herself and her students.
She says after returning from a night out in Buffalo around 2 a.m. Saturday, a man emerged from the shadows right outside her home on George Urban Boulevard in Cheektowaga.
He told her he saw her at the bar, attempted to kiss her, grabbed her, and threw her in the back of his car. She attempted to take a photo of him while it happened but was not able to capture much.
Once inside, Kelly said she was able to grab the wheel, causing the car to crash onto the sidewalk. That's when she was able to get away, bang on a neighbor’s door, and call for help. He only drove about six houses down, she said.
"I told him that if he was going to take me, he would have to kill me, because I'm going to fight until I die, and he laughed. He threw me in the back of his car," Kelly said. "I knew I had to fight. I knew I was willing to do whatever it took, and I think he noticed that, and I think that's why he let me go."
Cheektowaga Police said they are very much aware of the incident and are actively investigating, but they do not have any further details at this time.
Kelly described the man in his late 30s or 40s and said he had a thick accent and dark features. She said he was driving a gray SUV that may have been a GMC model.
She said she can’t stop asking herself why this happened.
“I wasn't wearing anything that was promiscuous,” she said. “I didn't act a certain way. There was no reason it had to be me.”
But she said what’s keeping her together is that sharing her story might save someone else.
“My number one concern is just him being found so that it doesn't happen again,” Kelly said.
Anyone with more information is asked to share it with Cheektowaga PD.