Charlotte Horror: How Trapped Drivers Pleaded with 911 to Rescue Them From Seething Mob
September 27, 2016
Charlotte motorists
were caught in a terrifying nightmare as rioters flooded onto I-85 and surrounded their cars during last week’s unrest– and many drivers pleaded with emergency services to rescue them from the demonstrators.
The city of Charlotte has released a number of 911 tapes, including calls made from gridlocked motorists on Charlotte streets who feared for their lives as protests over the death of Keith Scott moved to block highways going in and out of the city. Dozens of vehicles were stopped on I-85 and other major thoroughfares. According to some of the motorists trapped on the streets, protesters jumped on cars, mobbed trucks, and threw rocks.
“I’m trapped,” one motorist told the 911 dispatchers. “They’re all in the street … Oh my God, they’re coming!” Screams could be heard in the background, according to local media who reviewed the tapes.
One family who had their window smashed by a rock was instructed by a 911 dispatcher to get to safety before pulling over to inspect the damage. “I’m still stuck in this,” the driver told emergency services. “I would like to get out of it before I pull over.”
The dispatcher responded, “I don’t want you to stop there, period. Just follow traffic and get out of the area.” The dispatcher stayed on the line with the woman until she had reached a safe, lit parking lot.
Even big rig truckers were unnerved by the melee, calling 911 to report that they were trapped in their trucks as looters opened their trailers and stole their cargo. “They’re breaking into my truck, the mob out here,” one trucker told Charlotte police. “I can’t move. There’s a whole mob of people, I’m not kidding. Yep, they’ve taken everything. They’ve got the whole road blocked.”
Another trucker admitted to being terrified. “I’m so scared,” he said. “They’re just taking stuff and running with it. They’ve got the doors of the trailer open.”
Truckers also reported that rioters had started fires on the highway. That made a getaway in the truck impossible, and leaving the truck on foot too dangerous.
According to police, the demonstrators held vehicles on I-85 at bay for nearly two hours, shutting down all lanes of traffic and horrifying trapped motorists. Reports indicate the police were able to finally clear the highway a little after 3am, and
only by firing tear gas into the rampaging crowd.
The incident was broadcast live on television and immediately made news on social media platforms. Conservative commentator Glenn Reynolds was briefly suspended from Twitter for suggesting that trapped motorists “run down” demonstrators in an effort to get free.
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