Teen says man tried to lure her into pickup on Jacksonville's Westside

Good Samaritan then comes to high school student's rescue

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There's a neighborhood crime alert on Jacksonville's Westside, where police are trying to find a man accused of trying to lure a high school student into his truck.

The Edward H. White Military Academy of Leadership student said it happened Wednesday after she got off a school bus near the intersection of Morse Avenue and Firestone Road. But, fortunately, a good Samaritan stopped to help her.

The teenage girl told police that she had just gotten off the bus and crossed the street when the driver of a black pickup truck started following her. She described the driver as a white man between 40 and 50 years old with gray, spiky hair who was wearing a red and white plaid shirt. 

"I saw him stop in front of me and he said, 'Sweetie, do you want a ride?' And I said, 'no,'" said the teen, who spoke Thursday with News4Jax on the condition of anonymity. "He said, 'Baby, I'm not going to hurt you. Just get in the car.' I said, 'No sir. I'm fine.'"

She said he then opened the passenger door and told her to get in once more, so she took off running. 

"I was yelling, 'Somebody, please help me,'" the teen said. "Cars were passing and no one was really trying to help."

She said she ran into oncoming traffic and that's when a good Samaritan came to her rescue.

Antione Carter said he stopped his car to help her when he saw the teen trying to get away from the driver of the black pickup.

“I actually saw that she needed help," Carter said. "Once I stopped, she said, 'This man is trying to kidnap me.' So I stopped and told her to jump in the car.”

Carter said that’s when the black truck sped off down Firestone Road, which becomes Rampart Road.

The girl’s mother said she’s thankful a good Samaritan came to her daughter’s aid.

“He saw that I was a mother in fear and I just thank God for him. I really do," said the teen's mother, who also wished to remain anonymous. 

Although the girl is safe, her mother is still worried because police were not able to track down the pickup, even after police dispatch issued a "Be On The Lookout."

“Just how it happened and the things he was saying, this is not this guy’s first time doing this, and I don’t think it will be his last," the mother said. 

Since the pickup driver has not been found, the teen's mother said, she will be making arrangements to leave work and pick her daughter up from school. 


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