Police say a brave 12-year-old boy jumped from a moving car to escape a suspected kidnapper in South Florida on Wednesday.
According to the affidavit, the boy told detectives that he got off his school bus and was walking toward his home in Boynton Beach when a man driving a white pickup truck pulled over and offered him a ride. The man, later identified as 26-year-old Timothy Miller, told the child that he gives rides to kids “all the time” and “not to worry” because he “won’t do anything weird.”
The boy said he agreed to take the ride because Miller “seemed nice and had a friendly smile.” But once he got in the truck, the boy claimed Miller’s demeanor changed, and he started to “act different.”
That’s when the frightened boy tried to open the door to get out, but the suspect sped up, and the boy made the brave decision to dive out of the speeding vehicle.
Eyewitnesses, who saw the boy land on the pavement, stopped to help him, while two other Good Samaritans immediately went after Miller and followed his truck onto Interstate 95. When Miller got off at an exit, the other drivers used their cars to block in his truck until police arrived. Miller “repeatedly violently resisted officer’s attempts to detain him” but was ultimately taken into custody, according to the affidavit.
The child was treated for abrasions to his forehead, arms, and hands. The suspect reportedly told cops that he picked up the boy because he thought he was a teenager and could help him score drugs.
Miller was arrested on charges of kidnapping under the age of 13, resisting an officer with violence and child neglect, according to a probable cause affidavit.