Background: The neighborhood where a woman was allegedly captured in the driveway of her home (screengrab via WGRZ). Inset: Booking photo of Abel Gebrehawaria, accused of following a woman home from a bar near Buffalo and kidnapping her. She was able to escape after she made him crash his car. (Erie County District Attorney’s Office)
A grand jury in upstate New York indicted a man who allegedly abducted a woman in what authorities called a random kidnapping.
Abel Gebrehawaria, 24, of Buffalo, is charged with second-degree kidnapping. According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, the victim was getting out of her car in her driveway at her home in the town of Cheektowaga in the early morning hours of March 2 when Gebrehawaria came up from behind her and attacked, dragging her toward a parked SUV. Gebrehawaria allegedly threw her in the back seat of his SUV and drove off.
Thinking fast, the woman grabbed the steering wheel, causing the SUV to drive up on a curb only about 8 or 10 houses down from where she lived, prosecutors said. That’s when Gebrehawaria “told the victim to go,” according to prosecutors.
The victim, a 26-year-old teacher whose first name is Kelly, conducted interviews with a couple local TV stations to talk about her horrifying ordeal. Prosecutors said she had gone out for the night for drinks at a bar with friends. She and her friends ended the night around 2 a.m. and she drove home by herself. Prosecutors believe Gebrehawaria followed her home from the bar to abduct her.
“I pulled into a driveway. I sat in my car for a minute, when I got out of it, in the corner of my eye I saw someone standing there and when I turned, this man pushed himself onto me. He kept telling me I was beautiful, tried to kiss me. I started to fight back,” Kelly told local ABC affiliate WKBW.
Kelly said she had to fight for her life. Before he threw her in his back seat she said “if you’re going to kidnap me, you’re going to have to kill me.” She even had the wherewithal to snap a photo on her phone of the man’s shirt.
“I knew it was life or death, I knew I would not walk out of that situation alive,” Kelly told the outlet.
After she got out of the car, she ran back home and called police.
Kelly also posted about the incident on her Facebook page.
“You hear about human trafficking in the news. You think this only happens to kids or young adults,” she wrote. “You think this would never happen in Buffalo or in your neighborhood. I never imagined this would happen to me until I was in the back seat of a car with the sinking realization I would have to fight to stay alive. This can happen to you. This can happen to your daughter, your sister, your friend, your neighbor. Be mindful of your surroundings, always assume the worst, have a plan and always be prepared.”
After the arrest, she thanked police and prosecutors as well as her friends who supported along the way. Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane at a press conference Friday praised Kelly for her bravery but also said these incidents don’t occur very often.
“This is an extremely rare occurrence,” Keane said. “This has not happened in our memory.”
Gebrehawaria is at the Erie County Jail without bond. His next court date has yet to be scheduled.
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