It was a secret hand signal that helped save the life of a 19-year-old woman in Hickman County, Tennessee. The unidentified woman credits her amazing rescue to a TikTok video she had once stumbled upon.
The 31-year-old offered her a ride and even though she willingly got into his pickup truck, she never could have imagined what was about to unfold.
Per Lt. Mike Doddo, the pair was driving along Highway 100 when they “got into a physical altercation” inside the vehicle. It soon escalated and the woman “asked to be let out” of his truck and was shocked when her ex said, “No.” Doddo added, “(Smith) then threatened to kill her by grabbing a screwdriver and telling her, if he couldn’t have her, nobody could have her.”
The man began recklessly driving his car, passing double yellow lines before arriving at the Twice Daily gas station at Highways 100 and 46 around 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. The victim used their brief stay at the store to gesture at the cashier. Remembering the signal to silently alert people when one’s in danger, she placed her palm forward, tucked her thumb in, and closed her four fingers over it the clerk repeated the gesture back to her and the woman nodded saying, “Yes.”
The staff person immediately informed 911 and as Smith was checking out, the cashier began stalling him by saying something was wrong with the register, according to Doddo. At this point, Smith seemingly “catches on to what’s going on” and takes his ex to the truck. Just as the vehicle pulls away, a Hickman County Sheriff’s Office corporal nears and starts following them. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Following a 10-15 minutes speedy (90 miles per hour) pursuit, the truck ultimately crashed into a creek on Bear Valley Road in southern Dickson County. From there, officials launched a pursuit on foot until Smith was ultimately captured and charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic assault. Thankfully, the woman was not injured in the process.
The sign used by the woman is known as the Violence at Home #SignalForHelp which can be used in cases of domestic violence or other emergencies. Previously this gesture helped save a 16-year-old girl from North Carolina who had been held in a vehicle against her will. The incident unfolded back in November 2021 when she made the gesture from a passenger-side window, according to Tennessean.
A fellow driver who recognized the signal informed the police and even relayed the license plate of the vehicle. 61-year-old James Herbert Brick was subsequently arrested for abducting the teenager.
Mother left everyone in disbelief after they heard her excuse why she left her baby alone with pit bull only for the dog to chew on the child’s hands and leave her without 5 fingers!
The young mother, later identified as Chloe, was arrested and charged with neglect after leaving her baby daughter with pit bull. The dog reportedly chewed on the baby’s hand when she left her alone, resulting in the girl losing 5 fingers.
Three of the fingers on the girl’s left hand were fully amputated and two fingers on her right hand were partially amputated. The incident left neighbors startled and in disbelief.
The mother reportedly left her 3-month-old baby alone with the dog so she could take a shower. During and interview with investigators, the 21-year-old mom said that she was feeling ill and put the little girl in her bassinet before heading to the bathroom, per reports.
The woman then turned on the shower and turned it back off again when she heard the baby girl scream. Chloe then found the 3-month-old pit bull puppy chewing on the baby’s hands. She wrapped the baby’s hands in cloth and called 911…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
You just don’t. Thank God the baby’s still alive,’ neighbor, Kecia said. NBC2 reports the three-month-old puppy that was just brought into the home less than 24 hours earlier after the mother coming across a post for the dog on Facebook.
The mother was charged with child neglect following a four-month-long investigation. Investigators in bringing charges forward said the mother kept changing stories as to why she left the baby alone with the pit bull.
The puppy was quarantined as part of protocol following a bite. The pit bull passed the quarantine and was transferred to the Animal Welfare League.
As the baby recovers with family members, the mother, who posted $7,500 bond, was granted supervised visitation. This incident remains under investigation.
The resulting diagnosis was shocking and horrifying: acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM.
This extremely rare condition causes brain swelling, and Ellis now has repeated seizures as a result.
ADEM is a little-understood disease that can begin from even a small infection.
It causes negative reactions to the white matter of the brain, which then affects the body’s immune system.
The result is a severe allergic reaction that involves attacking the immune system and the eroding of nerves’ protective layers.
This condition tends to affect different people in different ways, meaning it is usually impossible for doctors to provide an accurate prognosis – as is the case with Ellis.
It is unsure whether Ellis will recover, how severe his condition is, or if he will have any long-term effects from it.
After the AEDM diagnosis, Ellis was placed in a medically-induced coma and rushed to the Leeds General Infirmary.
A week later, another scan revealed that the swelling was no longer just in Ellis’ brain – it was beginning to make its way down his spine.
He was also having mini-seizures due to the brain swelling. But it’s not all bad news – after a while of being on a ventilator, Ellis is able to breathe on his own again.
The Sick Children’s Trust has put up Ellis’ family, including his three brothers, the youngest of which still doesn’t know what is really happening to Ellis.
Ellis, meanwhile, is still in a coma with his parents by his bedside as he receives the 24/7 care that he needs.
It is still unknown whether Ellis will recover fully or not, but doctors are doing everything they can to provide information to his worried family.
It’s expected that Ellis will be at the hospital for at least a couple of months, and will then need constant care at home once he is able to leave.
In order to ease the financial strain, family and friends, as well as Ellis’ school Clayton St John CE Primary School, have been working hard to raise funds for the family.
Ellis is a strong, tough boy and everyone is rooting for him and hoping for his recovery.
A fundraiser for the family with a £5,000 target goal has been set up, and around 92% of funds have been raised at the time of writing.
If you’d like to donate to the cause, you can do so at their JustGiving page.
Losing a child can be a devastating event, no matter what age.It is, however, universally agreed upon that it is worse when the child is lost at such a young age.
Sadly, this sort of early death is expected for some families, due to the circumstances that their child is involved in.
Despite the advancement of modern medicine, there are still plenty of children who suffer from severe health problems from either a young age or even from birth. These children are often predicted to not survive very long.
This latest bout of illness seemed to be the last one she could handle – the girl was forced to stay in the hospital for seven weeks, completely dependant on life support.
It was at this point that Colleen Banton, her mother, was forced to make a heartbreaking decision.
In the interest of not prolonging her daughter’s suffering, she opted to keep the ventilator off the next time her daughter was strong enough to breathe on her own.
It was essentially plugging the plug for the girl – by this point, Colleen had decided that should her daughter’s time had come, then there was no use in delaying the inevitable.
While praying with friends and family who had come out to support this mother, Colleen was suddenly called over to a nearby monitor by the pediatrician nurse.
There, her attention was directed to the bright light that had appeared in front of the door to the pediatrician unit.
Astonished, Colleen took a quick photo of it with her camera, then went to check this strange light in person.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t there physically.
A miracle occurred shortly thereafter – three days later, Chelsea was well enough to return home once again.
Colleen is convinced that the figure was an angel who helped her daughter.
Chelsea would then go on to live for another 7 more years before passing away in 2015, at the age of 21.