DETROIT – A 35-year-old woman managed to escape three men in a minivan who tried to kidnap her Monday night at Wayne State University.
The woman, who is not being identified by Local 4, told reporter Shawn Ley she makes the trip to Detroit from Lansing every day. She is working toward a PhD at the university and takes a cab after classes back to Lansing.
She was waiting for a ride she had scheduled through Uber -- a smartphone app-operated car service -- at Cass Avenue and Putnam Street just after 9 p.m. when a black minivan pulled up.
Thinking it was her Uber, she opened the van's sliding door and saw three black men inside.
They tried to pull her inside, but she was able to push herself back out of the van before it took off.
Though not seriously hurt physically, she's very shaken up. She said she will be working with her husband on more safety measures now when she leaves campus.
Police did not release detailed descriptions of the men or minivan.
Statement from WSU:
To All WSU Students, Staff and Faculty,
The following information is provided to alert WSU students, staff and faculty, as well as area residents, about this incident so that they may take additional precautions in the area.
At 9:40 pm last evening, a 35 year old female WSU student reported that she may have been the intended victim of a possible abduction attempt, earlier in the evening, while standing at Cass and Putnam. The student advised Officers that at approximately 9:20 pm she was standing at the corner of Cass and Putnam, waiting for her Uber car to arrive. While waiting, a dark colored minivan pulled up to the light and stopped. Believing that the vehicle was her Uber car, the student opened the sliding side door. Once the door opened, she saw three male subjects inside the vehicle and she realized the vehicle was not her transportation. At that point, one of the males inside the vehicle grabbed her arm. The student pushed herself away and the vehicle drove off southbound on Cass Avenue. The exact intentions of the vehicle occupants are unknown, but an abduction attempt was possible.
The three males inside the vehicle did not say anything or threaten the student and they did not attempt to take anything from the student, who was not injured, The student went inside State Hall and called WSUPD a short time later.