The grass was lightly frosted from the late January winter night, and a light flurry made the cold even more visible. Being only 11 years old I was surprised and excited when my mother asked me to warm up our car, an old blue dodge van that seated twelve. Slightly embarrassed I admitted that I had no idea how to start the car.
My sister and I stood in the cold as we watched my mother turn on the car. As we rubbed our hands together a large African-American man walked past us, I was not sure why but something stuck out about him. Our street was adjacent to both the local middle school and high school; both had a student’s that constantly frequented our neighborhood. Normally, they barely register, but for some reason, he stuck out, almost like he did not belong.
While the car warmed up, we prepared for school and filed into the car. There was nothing special about that morning, my younger brothers, Yaakov, Menachem, Gedalia, and Asher filed into the van, and we placed my youngest sister Rachel in the front seat. We waited for my mother she opened the front door and began making her way to the car. Having just stopped using her cane, as she recuperated from a shattered kneecap, she moved slowly especially on this cold morning.
We had yet to buckle in, and I was facing backwards talking to one of my siblings that sat behind me. Glancing out the back window I noticed that the same young man was making his way back around the block. "What the hell is he doing back here?" I wondered aloud as I turned back around.
What happened next is hard to describe, I felt my gut wrench and I pulled open the sliding door next to me without really knowing why. As I turned my head back to the front of the van I realized that he was sitting in the front seat and my mother lunged at the door trying to get in. My heart began racing as I realized what had happened; the man turned the wheel as he sped off down the street.
Around me, my brothers were crying out in terror, someone had taken us, stolen our car, and rendered us helpless. As the oldest I realized I needed to keep my cool and turned towards our new host. "Please let us go," I managed, in a way that I thought sounded calm.
He turned and looked at me. His eyes seemed filled with desperation as he said "Shut the door!"
It was only then that I realized that the door was still open and I stood and closed the door. My backpack fell from the moving vehicle and instinct made me grab for it, my life being inside. With the door shut I sat back down and turned to our captor, "Please let us go."
Once more he turned to me, "Shhh, I’ll let you go." He said in a rough voice, I was not truly convinced, but what choice did I have?
Turning to my brothers I begged them " Guys be quiet he'll let us go." They seemed just as unconvinced as I was and continued to scream. Looking down at the floor I began to think about what was going to happen. As the ideas ran through my head I realized that if we did not get out before we left our neighborhood, then we would die.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang. My head snapped up trying to discern the source of the sound and noticed that the side door next to me it's the window had shattered. The door itself had been bent inwards.
In this van there was a space in between the door and the floor, like a step, for comfort I always placed my foot in that space. Now I stared down and saw that the door was bent inwards and had wedged my foot in pretty tight. "I'm stuck!" I yelled in panic as I tried to free my leg. After a moment it was free, but it felt strange and I bent over to touch it. My hand came back up with a small blood stain. A scratch, I assumed, if it was worse, it would probably hurt more.
It was then, that my younger sister, who was not buckled in, crawled back to us her face covered in blood. "Look what you did!" I blurted out not being able to control myself.
"Shhh, I’ll let you go," he responded. This time I believed him a little more.
He slowed the car slightly as he neared the turn, "Thank you, thank you," I said assuming that he was stopping, but he continued, as he sped up. "Please... let us go," I said desperately. Our time was running short, in a few minutes he could clear our neighborhood, and then it would be over for us, at least so I believed.
Suddenly, he pulled to a halt. "Thank you,” I said as I pulled the door next to me. Of course it would not open after the accident. “Go out the back, “I said to my brothers and turned to point the way.
"Look!" one of my brothers yelled I turned and saw that the man was gone and ran off into the hedges.
"Go!" I yelled terrified that he would be back any moment. We quickly climbed out of the driver's seat and stood outside the van for a moment.
We knew the neighborhood well and had people we knew in the area. "Let's go to Dryfuss," said my brother Yaakov, they live right here. I looked, I could see their backyard but we would have to run across the large empty parking lot. It was the same general direction that our captor had run. It was unprotected and he could easily grab us along the way.
"Let's go to Steger's." My childhood friend who lived in the opposite direction, although it was slightly farther the way was friendlier, out in the open. "Go! I'm hurt"
We ran, my brother Menachem scooped up Rachel as he ran. I lagged behind, my leg hurting more than I expected, and I half hopped and half ran. "Go!" I yelled "Help!" I glanced behind me as I ran and yelled; we were not being followed. By the time I reached the Lerner's yard I had lost sight of my siblings, but I knew we were safe.
As I approached my friend’s house I saw my siblings on the porch with his mother. She tried to calm us down as everyone explained what happened. "Who else is hurt?" she asked as she cut us off.
“I think I am, " I said as I lifted my pant leg to reveal a large round blotch of blood on my white tube sock.” I think I'm hurt worse than I thought." I said as I felt the adrenaline rush begin to die down.
"Let's get you inside," she said as she ushered us in. We waited on the couch for the paramedics, and my mother entered her face white like snow.
We are alright, she is assured, as the paramedics enter the house and begin to cut off my sock. "I can see the bone," says the paramedic as he looks at my cut.
With the inn
ocence of an eleven year old I stared at my leg, "where,” I asked incredulously trying to get a glimpse.
As they wheeled me out on the stretcher, I heard my brothers whispering about TV cameras. With my neck braced I could not move, but I was safe, we all were.
Link to the newspaper article
My sister and I stood in the cold as we watched my mother turn on the car. As we rubbed our hands together a large African-American man walked past us, I was not sure why but something stuck out about him. Our street was adjacent to both the local middle school and high school; both had a student’s that constantly frequented our neighborhood. Normally, they barely register, but for some reason, he stuck out, almost like he did not belong.
While the car warmed up, we prepared for school and filed into the car. There was nothing special about that morning, my younger brothers, Yaakov, Menachem, Gedalia, and Asher filed into the van, and we placed my youngest sister Rachel in the front seat. We waited for my mother she opened the front door and began making her way to the car. Having just stopped using her cane, as she recuperated from a shattered kneecap, she moved slowly especially on this cold morning.
We had yet to buckle in, and I was facing backwards talking to one of my siblings that sat behind me. Glancing out the back window I noticed that the same young man was making his way back around the block. "What the hell is he doing back here?" I wondered aloud as I turned back around.
What happened next is hard to describe, I felt my gut wrench and I pulled open the sliding door next to me without really knowing why. As I turned my head back to the front of the van I realized that he was sitting in the front seat and my mother lunged at the door trying to get in. My heart began racing as I realized what had happened; the man turned the wheel as he sped off down the street.
Around me, my brothers were crying out in terror, someone had taken us, stolen our car, and rendered us helpless. As the oldest I realized I needed to keep my cool and turned towards our new host. "Please let us go," I managed, in a way that I thought sounded calm.
He turned and looked at me. His eyes seemed filled with desperation as he said "Shut the door!"
It was only then that I realized that the door was still open and I stood and closed the door. My backpack fell from the moving vehicle and instinct made me grab for it, my life being inside. With the door shut I sat back down and turned to our captor, "Please let us go."
Once more he turned to me, "Shhh, I’ll let you go." He said in a rough voice, I was not truly convinced, but what choice did I have?
Turning to my brothers I begged them " Guys be quiet he'll let us go." They seemed just as unconvinced as I was and continued to scream. Looking down at the floor I began to think about what was going to happen. As the ideas ran through my head I realized that if we did not get out before we left our neighborhood, then we would die.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang. My head snapped up trying to discern the source of the sound and noticed that the side door next to me it's the window had shattered. The door itself had been bent inwards.
In this van there was a space in between the door and the floor, like a step, for comfort I always placed my foot in that space. Now I stared down and saw that the door was bent inwards and had wedged my foot in pretty tight. "I'm stuck!" I yelled in panic as I tried to free my leg. After a moment it was free, but it felt strange and I bent over to touch it. My hand came back up with a small blood stain. A scratch, I assumed, if it was worse, it would probably hurt more.
It was then, that my younger sister, who was not buckled in, crawled back to us her face covered in blood. "Look what you did!" I blurted out not being able to control myself.
"Shhh, I’ll let you go," he responded. This time I believed him a little more.
He slowed the car slightly as he neared the turn, "Thank you, thank you," I said assuming that he was stopping, but he continued, as he sped up. "Please... let us go," I said desperately. Our time was running short, in a few minutes he could clear our neighborhood, and then it would be over for us, at least so I believed.
Suddenly, he pulled to a halt. "Thank you,” I said as I pulled the door next to me. Of course it would not open after the accident. “Go out the back, “I said to my brothers and turned to point the way.
"Look!" one of my brothers yelled I turned and saw that the man was gone and ran off into the hedges.
"Go!" I yelled terrified that he would be back any moment. We quickly climbed out of the driver's seat and stood outside the van for a moment.
We knew the neighborhood well and had people we knew in the area. "Let's go to Dryfuss," said my brother Yaakov, they live right here. I looked, I could see their backyard but we would have to run across the large empty parking lot. It was the same general direction that our captor had run. It was unprotected and he could easily grab us along the way.
"Let's go to Steger's." My childhood friend who lived in the opposite direction, although it was slightly farther the way was friendlier, out in the open. "Go! I'm hurt"
We ran, my brother Menachem scooped up Rachel as he ran. I lagged behind, my leg hurting more than I expected, and I half hopped and half ran. "Go!" I yelled "Help!" I glanced behind me as I ran and yelled; we were not being followed. By the time I reached the Lerner's yard I had lost sight of my siblings, but I knew we were safe.
As I approached my friend’s house I saw my siblings on the porch with his mother. She tried to calm us down as everyone explained what happened. "Who else is hurt?" she asked as she cut us off.
“I think I am, " I said as I lifted my pant leg to reveal a large round blotch of blood on my white tube sock.” I think I'm hurt worse than I thought." I said as I felt the adrenaline rush begin to die down.
"Let's get you inside," she said as she ushered us in. We waited on the couch for the paramedics, and my mother entered her face white like snow.
We are alright, she is assured, as the paramedics enter the house and begin to cut off my sock. "I can see the bone," says the paramedic as he looks at my cut.
With the inn
ocence of an eleven year old I stared at my leg, "where,” I asked incredulously trying to get a glimpse.As they wheeled me out on the stretcher, I heard my brothers whispering about TV cameras. With my neck braced I could not move, but I was safe, we all were.
Link to the newspaper article
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