by Jeremy Rush
2 days ago
“And there I was, terrified. And no phone, or I would have dialed for help, no matter what."
by Jeremy Rush
2 days ago
“And there I was, terrified. And no phone, or I would have dialed for help, no matter what."
Umberton - One mother put an emergency sound alarm to very good use. Allison Reynolds, mother of two, had finished a quick shift in Walmart and was sitting in her car warming up the engine and checking the messages on her phone when an intruder opened the passenger door and stepped in. It was her keychain alarm that saved the day.
Allison, whose husband Jim works for United Trucking and is away for weeks at a time, was doing a last-minute diaper run. She tells us she was always nervous about going shopping alone. “John is away working for weeks at a time, and I’m left managing on my own. I hate going out in the evening alone, but sometimes, there’s no way around it.”
Thursday evening Allison put the last diaper on baby Pete at bedtime. “I had no idea I was running low, till I reached into the drawer and there was just one left.” she says. After putting the boys to sleep, she says she asked her elderly neighbor to watch them for twenty minutes while she ran out to pick up diapers.
“I was only in the store five minutes,” she relates, “And when I came out, I took my phone out and checked my messages. I wanted to know if Lynne had messaged, if the boys had woken up. There weren’t any messages from her, but there was one from Jim, and I sat there for a few minutes chatting before starting the car.”
It turned out to be an ill-timed few minutes. She was startled by the sound of her passenger door opening, and before she had a chance to react someone was sitting in the passenger seat. “I never got a good look at his face,” she says. She felt, rather than saw, that the intruder was a large-bodied male, and she caught a whiff of tobacco in his coat when he reached over, closed the child lock, and picked up the phone she had dropped on her lap.
He only spoke three words, she remembered. “Start the engine.”
“And there I was, terrified. And no phone, or I would have dialed for help, no matter what. My hand went to my keys, mechanically. And it was then my eye fell on the little dongle I have on it. It looks just like a garage door opener, but it’s a personal emergency alarm I bought off the internet. I’ve never had to use it, but suddenly I realized that this little device had the potential to completely turn the situation around.”
It was a matter of half a second to pull the pin out, and then the car exploded with noise. 130 db; the sound level of a jackhammer or a jet taking off right beside you. Apparently panicked, the intruder grappled with the door. Allison had the presence of mind to unlock the child lock, the door flew open, and he nearly tumbled out. She saw him pick himself up and flee the scene.
“And there I was, terrified. And no phone, or I would have dialed for help, no matter what. My hand went to my keys, mechanically. And it was then my eye fell on the little dongle I have on it. It looks just like a garage door opener, but it’s a personal emergency alarm I bought off the internet. I’ve never had to use it, but suddenly I realized that this little device had the potential to completely turn the situation around.”
It was a matter of half a second to pull the pin out, and then the car exploded with noise. 130 db; the sound level of a jackhammer or a jet taking off right beside you. Apparently panicked, the intruder grappled with the door. Allison had the presence of mind to unlock the child lock, the door flew open, and he nearly tumbled out. She saw him pick himself up and flee the scene.
The alarm was still sounding 60 seconds later when security investigated the noise. She was able to point out the direction the intruder had run away, and someone helped her find the pin used to quiet the alarm. “There’s no way to silence this thing once it begins to sound, other than to stick the little pin back in the slot. That’s how I knew I was going to be alright, once I remembered I had this with me.” Allison explains. “Even if that guy hadn’t run off immediately, I knew he would realize he had no chance once he saw there was no way to silence the alarm.”
She’s not going anywhere without it, ever, she says. And her husband agrees with her. “I laughed at her when she bought it-- we live in a safe neighborhood, and I was sure she’d be fine. But if it wasn’t for that internet purchase, my kids might not have a mother tonight. Guess I’m pretty grateful that was hanging from her keychain like it was.”
Statistics show that 95% of attackers will instantly stop when there is a loud noise. Police recommend keeping your car doors locked when you’re parked, but easily accessible personal emergency alarms are another important feature of personal safety you don’t want to be without.
She’s not going anywhere without it, ever, she says. And her husband agrees with her. “I laughed at her when she bought it-- we live in a safe neighborhood, and I was sure she’d be fine. But if it wasn’t for that internet purchase, my kids might not have a mother tonight. Guess I’m pretty grateful that was hanging from her keychain like it was.”
Statistics show that 95% of attackers will instantly stop when there is a loud noise. Police recommend keeping your car doors locked when you’re parked, but easily accessible personal emergency alarms are another important feature of personal safety you don’t want to be without.