Carjacking victim uses cellphone, a little help from mom for rescue

Carjacking victim uses cellphone, a little help from mom for rescue

(Salt Lake County Jail)


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SOUTH SALT LAKE — An 18-year-old woman who police say was carjacked late last week was able to escape thanks to some quick thinking and her mother.

On Thursday, the woman was stopped at a red light at 210 W. 3900 South when Tracy Carol Freeman, 54, approached her vehicle, said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller. The driver thought Freeman was going to ask for money so she rolled down her window, Keller said.

Instead, Freeman opened the passenger side door, jumped in and told the woman to drive, Keller said.

Freeman "refused to get out of the victim's vehicle and demanded she drive her around the city aimlessly," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. Each time she tried to pull over, Freeman would hit her "several times on her arm demanding her to keep driving," the report states.

The driver later noted to police that Freeman made mostly incoherent statements while she was in her vehicle and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to the report.

Keller said the driver was later able to call her mother on her cellphone, and then just left the line open. The mother listened, figured out what was happening and called 911 on another phone, Keller said. She was able to tell officers where she believed her daughter was.

Officers in the area of 4141 S. State spotted the car, pulled it over and arrested Freeman, Keller said. Freeman was combative as she was being arrested and had to be placed in a body wrap to prevent her from injuring herself or others while in the back of a patrol car, he said.

When police interviewed Freeman, she "was not able to explain her actions as to why she got into the victim's vehicle or why she was found in possession of narcotics," the report states.

Freeman was booked into jail for investigation of kidnapping, drug possession and assault.

Keller credited the girl and her mother for their quick thinking in helping end the terrifying situation.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast