For Eric Streeval, a tranquil motorcycle ride in Hickman County, Tennessee, on a clear Sunday afternoon turned into a tense rescue operation after he witnessed a woman in a convenience store hand-signaling for help.
Streeval had stepped into the Twice Daily Gas Station to grab a drink on April 10 “a little after 1 p.m.,” he told The Epoch Times, when he saw a woman at the end of the candy aisle mouthing the word, “Help,” while using a hand signal devised to alert others that the signaler is being kidnapped.
Streeval said the woman learned the method from TikTok.
Streeval got his drink and as he paid for it at the counter, he notified the cashiers.
“I told them, ‘Get the cops here. There’s a young woman in the back in the red and white striped shirt who’s possibly being abused,’” Streeval said.
The woman had a red handprint on the side of her face, Streeval said.
Streeval went outside to take pictures of the license plate and the truck while the cashiers attempted to stall the suspect.
“The cashiers did an outstanding job of holding him up,” Streeval said.
When they emerged from the gas station, Streeval said he confronted the suspect after having called 911.
“I said, ‘Hey man, do you think hitting women is OK because we don’t do that around here. If you want to fight, fight a man. Don’t beat up on a woman,’” Streeval said.
The suspect, whom the Hickman County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to The Epoch Times was 31-year-old Johnathon Smith, didn’t respond to Streeval’s attempts to stall him from leaving before the sheriff’s department could arrive, Streeval said.
“I’m a believer in 2nd Amendment rights, so I was prepared if he tried anything just for everyone’s safety, but he just stuck his head down and got in the truck,” Streeval said.
By the time the Smith was pulling out, the sheriff’s department arrived, leading to a car chase, Streeval said.
When the girlfriend asked to be let out, Doddo said that Smith then allegedly threatened her with a screwdriver, telling her that if he couldn’t have her, “nobody could have her,” the Tennessean reported.
The sheriff’s department pursuit lasted up to 15 minutes and reached a speed of almost 90 mph, ending with a foot chase after the suspect crashed the truck into a creek. The woman was not injured.
Empowering Victims
The hand signaling technique has been advocated for by many anti-human trafficking organizations such as North Carolina’s Awake and Bold, which initiated a video and billboard campaign through its Open Your Eyes education initiative that teaches the hand signals that empower victims and alert bystanders to a trafficking or kidnapping situation.Awake and Bold have four billboards in North Carolina and two in Georgia that illustrate the hand signal initiative Hara Taicher and co-founder Elena Huggins are promoting.
Multiple organizations have advocated for the hand signal campaign on TikTok, where the woman later told Streeval is how she knew about it.
Streeval was able to locate her on Facebook and meet her back at the gas station on Monday, where he gave her contact information of people who could help her if she gets in trouble again, he said.
On his initiative, Streeval said, “I’m a single father with a 12-year-old daughter. I still try to see the good in humanity. If my daughter, mother, and my sisters were ever in that situation, I would hope somebody would do the same for them.”
