One morning, a woman was said to have left home earlier than usual to drop her kids at their grandma’s place before heading to work. Suddenly, she spotted a billboard flashing ‘Amber Alert’ and saw the wanted vehicle. Please keep reading to discover what she did next.
Believe it or not, kindness, compassion, love, and empathy have a timeless charm that never gets old. It’s natural for people to care for and support their family and friends in trying circumstances. But what truly matters is going out of your way to lend a helping hand to a complete stranger.
Often, we might find ourselves in unlikely situations where it’s totally up to us whether or not we step forward to ease someone’s pain. The lady in today’s story found herself in a similar setting and felt her duty to offer help. Fortunately, her efforts paid off and worked wonders. Here’s the whole story.
On the afternoon of August 10, the police were said to have received a 911 call from UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. The person calling from the hospital frantically reported that a patient had stolen a security vehicle and fled the property.
Coffey confessed she was taken aback when she saw the car but was relieved she was in the right place at the right time.
Two hospital staff members were said to have suffered minor injuries. Soon after the 911 call, the officers sprang into action and found the UNC Rex vehicle in the evening of the same day. But to their surprise, the car was said to be empty.
It was later discovered that the driver ditched the Ford Escape in Sanford and reportedly changed it for a Lexus. What was even startling was that there were said to be two people in the car — Crystal Beatrice Walston, 36, and her five-year-old daughter, Amani Jade Bruce.
Walston, a behavioral health patient at the UNC Rex Hospital, drove to Rosedown Drive in Cary and reportedly kidnapped her own daughter from her home. On the way, the woman was said to have stopped at John Elliason’s Cary car dealership, Import Performance, to buy a vehicle. Elliason revealed:
“[Walston] made it seem like she was ready to buy a car, but looking at a vehicle double her budget. She made claims that she’s trying to run away from her boyfriend because her boyfriend was abusing her daughter.”
Another clip reportedly showed Walston grabbing a key off the keyboard, after which Elliason said an Infiniti Q50 was stolen from his collection. Walston’s mother, Brend Reid, shared that she had Bruce’s custody for a year while her daughter recovered.
A significant breakthrough in the case reportedly came through on the morning of August 11. A woman named Angelica Coffey said she was driving to drop her kids off at their grandma’s home before leaving for work.
Suddenly, Coffey noticed a billboard flashing ‘Amber Alert’ on I-40 and saw the wanted Lexus in front of her. The lady, who said she was a UNC Health worker, immediately called the police and stayed on the phone with dispatchers while tailing the vehicle for about half an hour.
Coffey confessed she was shocked when she saw the car but was relieved she was in the right place at the right time. She said that part of the reason why she noticed the Amber Alert was because she was always watchful of her surroundings and woke up earlier than usual that morning. Coffey also added:
“I wanted to save this little girl. I have two kids. I would want someone to do the same thing for me.”
As a mother to a five-year-old and one-year-old, Coffey admitted that she felt it was her duty to be on the lookout and help save the little girl. The woman said she hoped someone would do the same for her kids if they were ever in trouble.