ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - A man in Orlando held on for his life on the back of a semi-truck, which police said he used as a getaway vehicle.
According to the Orange Couny Sheriff’s Office, 20-year-old Derrick Maestas battered a woman during an incident on a transit bus. The man then fled the scene, investigators said, and latched onto the back of a semi-truck that eventually drove onto the highway.
Drivers were able to capture Maestas’ attempted getaway. Edwin Rivera was one of those who documented the moment.
“I mean, he was very calm,” said Rivera. “He was just hanging on, like taking a ride.”
Rivera said he’s still in shock a day after the incident. “When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I hung up on the call. I don’t think I even said goodbye to the person I was talking to. I just hung up.”
As Rivera sped up to the semi-truck, he said other drivers drove closer to the truck’s cabin to alert the driver.
A spokesperson for the trucking company said the other drivers were successful in alerting their driver. The semi-truck pulled over to the side of the road and found the man.
“Because citizens got involved, they saw something and said something,” said Orange County Sheriff’s deputy Jane Watrel. “They called us. We were able to solve this within an hour.”
Watrel said the victim in the bus incident was on her cell phone and in the back of the bus, where it was apparently very loud. The victim then began speaking loudly and Maestas, investigators said, didn’t like her loud voice. Once the victim left the bus, he followed her and assaulted her.
Maestas has been arrested and is now facing a felony battery charge.
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