Welders save life of apparent carjacking victim found in Curtis Creek
By Kate Amara
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Witnesses told 11 News how they saved the life of an apparent carjacking victim after she was found in a dangerous part of Curtis Creek.
Officials told 11 News that Anne Arundel County police are investigating because the woman said she was carjacked by a man and a woman after dropping off a friend around 2:30 a.m. at home on Milton Avenue in Glen Burnie.
The woman said the assailants threw her in the trunk of her own car, drove to the bridge and then threw her off it to the creek, which is some 60 feet below.
Jorge Gonzalez and Ron Mencia, two welders at a south Baltimore boatyard who likely saved the woman’s life, told 11 News the woman was found in bad shape just before 6 a.m. Saturday under a crane counterweight in the middle of Curtis Creek.
The welders told 11 News that the woman was wet, cold, shivering and bleeding from cuts and scrapes up and down both her arms.
“She started to yell, ‘Help me, help me.’ And, I said, ‘Oh my God, somebody’s out there on the water,'” Gonzalez said. “I get off the truck and start to yell, ‘Hey, somebody there?’ She started yelling to me, ‘Yes, I am here. I need help.'”
The welders said they gave the woman warm clothes and blankets, called 911 and kept her company until an ambulance and police officers arrived.
“I told her, ‘You swimming all the way to here?’ And, she said, ‘Yes, yes. I am swimming. Oh my God,'” Gonzalez said.
A storm was caught on camera at the time and likely overshadowed any ripples made by a swimmer below, according to Kevin Smith, co-owner of the boatyard Crew Boats to Go. Smith said his security video does not show the woman — or anyone else — wandering through the boatyard and walking out to the crane.
“You (have to) swim, probably, 350, 400 feet in 50-degree water, then climb up on top of that barge. That’s probably how she got all scraped up. (It’s) not a place you want to be in lightning,” Smith said.
Smith said he’s very proud of Gonzalez and Mencia.
“They’re both being very humble, and I think they probably don’t realize that they probably saved her life,” Smith said. “Going back and looking at the footage and seeing and hearing what they did is amazing.”
Anne Arundel County police said they’re still looking for the woman’s vehicle — a black, 2012 Mercedes 550 sedan — and both assailants.
“This is definitely a very weird case,” Anne Arundel County police Lt. Jacklyn Davis said. “This is definitely very scary and quite terrifying, the events that this woman is saying happened to her.”
Northern District detectives are investigating and ask anyone with information to call them at 410-222-6135 or the Anne Arundel County police tip line at 410-222-4700.
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