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Georgia Truck Driver and Good Samaritan Rescue Handcuffed Kidnapping Victim on South Carolina Highway
AIKEN COUNTY, South Carolina — A Georgia truck driver and an alert motorist are being credited with saving the life of a young woman who escaped a violent kidnapping attempt and was found running for her life down a rural highway in handcuffs. The terrifying roadside encounter, which unfolded near Boggy Gut Road, was captured entirely on a commercial vehicle's dashboard camera.
Truck driver Anthony Moore was traveling his normal route along Williston Road near daybreak around 7:00 AM when he witnessed a young woman frantically dodging an oncoming vehicle. According to Moore, the driver of the sedan was actively attempting to run the handcuffed woman over as she fled from one side of the highway to the other, screaming that someone was trying to kidnap her.
Moore quickly positioned his large commercial truck to shield the victim from the oncoming vehicle. The driver of the sedan, later identified by investigators as 39-year-old Jonathan Willard of New Ellenton, pulled up directly alongside Moore's truck cab. Willard held up a badge sideways and falsely claimed to be a law enforcement officer executing an arrest. The victim immediately shouted back to Moore, denying the suspect's claims and stating that Willard had abducted her.
The dangerous standoff dissolved when another motorist, identified in emergency logs as Glen, stopped his vehicle to assist and immediately dialed 911. Confronted by multiple witnesses and an active emergency call, Willard fled the scene in his vehicle, leaving the victim behind on the roadside. While waiting for emergency responders and rescue squads to arrive, Glen successfully managed to safely pry the handcuffs off the young woman's wrists.
The victim, who had just graduated from high school the previous day, explained to her rescuers that she was walking from her father's house to her mother's residence when Willard intercepted her near the corner of Banks Mill Road and Club Drive. Willard allegedly claimed to be a police officer, forced handcuffs onto her, and threw her into the back seat of his vehicle.
Willard then drove her to an isolated rural side road on the opposite side of the county, where he exited the vehicle to fumble in his trunk after cutting a chain off a security fence. Seizing the opportunity while the car door was left open, the young woman jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward the main highway, where she encountered Moore.
Local authorities tracked down and arrested Willard the following Saturday. He remains in custody facing formal charges of kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer. Responding deputies informed Moore that his timely highway intervention undoubtedly saved the young woman's life, disrupting a highly volatile and potentially fatal abduction.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
June 3, 2026
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