In life, you just never know when you’ll be called upon to step up and help someone in need.
Savannah Pritchett of Lubbock, Texas, was at work one Wednesday afternoon when she received just such a call to help. Thanks to her quick thinking, she’s now being hailed a hero for saving a woman’s life. Savannah, a store clerk at the Waterford Triple R Gas and Mart in Fresno, California, says it was just a regular day when a young woman walked into the store and urgently grasped her arm.
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“When she grabbed me she was very very shaky, she was like ‘Please, please help me,’”Savannah said. “I saw in her eyes and how bad she was shaking that oh no, she was scared.â€
The woman quickly explained that she’d been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by the group of men outside. They’d pulled over for gas, and the girl had told them she needed the restroom. She told Savannah she was desperate to get away from them, but they were armed with at least two guns.
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“She probably said ‘please, help me’ four times,”Savannah said, detailing the moment she knew for sure that this woman was telling the truth about the dire situation she was in.
Thinking fast, Savannah lead her to a remote, staff-only bathroom in the back of the store. She handed the woman a phone and told her to lock the door and call 911, then she went back to the front of the store and calmly locked the door.
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As the men approached the store, Savannah decided to unlock the door so as not to arouse their suspicions.
“I knew that if I left the door locked they would have caught on to something and probably took off,”she explained. “So I went back up there and I unlocked the door. They seriously had no idea that I knew anything.â€
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The men entered the store and asked where the girl had gone, and Savannah made up a story about the girl having menstrual trouble.
As the seconds ticked away, Savannah held her breath, buying time for the police to arrive. Deputies got there soon thereafter, guns drawn.
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The female victim was checked out at a local hospital and released, then brought back to her home and reunited with her family. Several suspects were arrested on the scene and taken away in handcuffs, and police did indeed recover two handguns from their vehicle.
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The police eventually took all four suspects into custody, and they made sure to let the world know that without Savannah’s bravery and smarts, this story could have had a much more tragic ending.
Savannah is proof positive that keeping your cool in stressful situations can save lives. It also pays to truly listen to people who ask for help! You just never know when you could become the hero someone needs at that moment.
Please share this important message to give Savannah a big shout-out for her bravery and compassion.
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