Teens Escape After Accepting Ride From Man In Pasadena

PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — A night of terror began at a bus stop for two 18-year-old women.

Pasadena police say the teens got into a car with Seth McDaniel, a parolee convicted of assault. McDaniel offered them a ride. Police say the teens quickly realized McDaniel was not taking them to their destination.

"We never know who is around. We always have to be careful," said Joshua Hernandez, the pastor of a small church just feet from the bus stop. He says the neighborhood in the area of Fair Oaks and Montana is generally safe, but there are issues.

"What are these girls doing alone? They should always have someone to protect them," Hernandez said.

Pasadena police say after picking up the girls, McDaniel drove them to an on-ramp to the 210 freeway at Mountain, where one girl jumped out of his moving truck and called 911.

The other teen wasn't able to get away until they reached the 110 freeway at Olympic, where she grabbed the steering wheel and forced him to collide with another vehicle. The attacker then pushed the teen out of the car. She would later tell police McDaniel had a gun and threatened to kill her if she didn't perform sexual favors.

"We live in this world. We know those things happen a lot,"Hernandez said. "The only thing we need to do is look for God, you know?"

Police were able to track McDaniel because he was wearing a GPS monitoring device. Both of the teens are expected to be OK.