ORLANDO, Fla. – Police are searching for a man whom a woman claims tried to kidnap her by pushing her into a waiting car.
Dani Herboso said the incident happened around 7:45 p.m. Monday.
She told News 6 that she walked to the Shell gas station at the corner of Michigan and Orange avenues, which is south of downtown Orlando.
After she bought a pack of cigarettes, she said she started to walk back home and was confronted by a man in the alley behind the gas station. She said the man punched her in the face and tried to pull her inside a waiting car.
“Once he hit me, I kind of went flying back,“ Herboso said. “He was still holding onto my jacket, which is probably the reason why I didn't go to the ground. I'm thankful for that now, because if I had fallen to the ground it would've have probably been a lot worse. I may not be here right now.”
Herboso said she knew immediately she had to get away.
"Adrenaline and everything -- survival mode kicked in, and I just started pushing him away, kicking him, moving my body like crazy, trying to get him off my jacket," she said.
Herboso said she wrestled herself away from the man, tearing her shirt in the process. She ran home and didn’t look back.
She called Orlando police after she was safely at home.
"I'm home. I got away from him," she can be heard telling a 911 operator. "He was trying to pull me into a car."
Investigators are looking for a slim, black male who was wearing a black sweatshirt and a beanie.
Herboso said he was standing next to a dark-colored four-door sedan.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.