The Gas Station Killer

Leann Driscoll was on her way to Atlanta, GA from Buckshot, TN. She was 20 years old, full of a passion for life and ambition to become more than anyone in her small town had ever been. It was time for her to make her mark on the world. She didn't quite know how she would do that, but she knew Atlanta would be the place to do it.

"It shouldn't take more than four hours." her best friend Penny said. "Those directions I gave you should bring you here in the least number of steps so you shouldn't get lost. I get concerned about you being without a cell phone. But I didn't have one either when I left town. You'd think at least one cell phone company would have coverage by now! Just make sure you leave early in the morning and beat the Labor Day weekend traffic. And be careful! I know it's a short trip, but just be on your guard."

Penny was starting her third year of Women's Studies at Georgia State and lived in downtown Atlanta near the university. Buckshot was always too small-town for her. Penny had dreams of forming her own non-profit to specifically seek out women in small towns who were victims of violence. She knew all too well that these women never sought out help at the same kind of facilities in the cities.

"I can't wait to get there Penny!" Leann said. "I wanna go to al the places you have been - Underground Atlanta, that Little Five Points area - I wanna check out the campus too!"

"We'll do all that and more! I can't wait to show you around either! You're gonna love it!

She was supposed to leave Buckshot Saturday morning, but she had made up her mind Friday night that she couldn't wait any longer. Her station wagon was loaded up - the trunk and a couple of bags on the back seat. She had already had a farewell dinner with family and neighbors. As everyone was cleaning up after dinner, she slipped out in the stillness of the night. She knew it would be dangerous traveling all that way by herself at night, but she thought she could still make it by midnight if she hurried.

After about an two hours her gas light came on. "Shit! I should have filed up before it got so dark!" Originally she had planed to fill up at Buck's Stop N Go Saturday morning, but at night, she couldn't risk old Buck trying to stop her from leaving at night. Everyone in town knew she was leaving and they had all warned her at some point in time, that city life was a lot more dangerous and that she needed to be extra careful. They were already worried that she was driving by herself, but nobody would have let her make the trip at this time of night.

She got off at the next exit at a nice well lit place called QuikTrip. She had never heard of it, but it was right by a Residence Inn and a McDonalds, so it looked like a reputable establishment. She got out of the car and was about to go inside when she realized her money was in her purse (duh!). So she went back and opened the back door on the passenger's side and grabbed her purse. She didn't bother locking the door since she was only gonna be inside for a minute. Leann paid for her gas and an energy drink and went back out to pump her gas. She heard a deep voice call over to her "Hey, excuse me..." she turned around at saw at the opposite pump a heavyset black guy standing about 6'4" with baggy jeans and an oversized black hoodie pumping gas at his tricked out '09 Escalade. Keeping her guard up, she decided to ignore the guy. "Excuse me, miss?! At pump 4?" He began walking over to her. As soon as she saw him charging at her (at least that's what she thought), she removed the pump, jumped in the car and sped off. Whew, close one! Not half a minute later did she see the headlights of his Escalade in her rear view. "Oh my God, he's after me!" she thought aloud. Leann had no idea where she was or which direction she was going now. She was just speeding down a dark 2-lane highway in the middle praying to God that highway patrol car would pull them over. Her heart was racing, pounding out of her chest. Her mind was flying at a thousand thoughts a minute towards the brink of sanity. Why me?! What is this guy's problem?! Has he been following me this whole time?! Could I have made it to the next stop? I could've, gas wasn't all the way past E. Wish I had a cell phone. If I wasn't from a stupid small town with no reception. I would have been better off going to a rundown gas station by a truck stop bar in the middle of nothing. What is he gonna try to do to me? Rape AND kill me? He's definitely gonna rob me. These thoughts consumed her so much she didn't even notice the small town highway had a stop light. As a car was crossing the intersection, she crashed right into it.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my GOD!" Leann was safe in her seat, she had managed to put her seatbelt on in the middle of the high speed chase. Her station wagon was a tank, the front bumper was gone and hood had been crushed to about half its size, but otherwise, the car was still in tact and so was she, save a few minor bumps and bruises. The other car was altogether different. The impact of the crash had left a deep impression into the passenger's side of the car. Glass was Bright red blood spattered against the windshield of the other car like bright red raindrops. She could make out through both her and the other car's cracked windshields the figure of a man slumped over the wheel in the driver's seat and a woman laying across the dashboard - the woman had not been wearing a seatbelt and had been slammed into the windshield. She paused and heard the sound of a crying toddler wailing like a tiny fire truck siren. In the backseat was a tiny little girl, no more than 2 years old, screaming "Mommy! Dadda!" at the top of her lungs. She heard a car door slam behind her and a man on the phone. She turned around to see her supposed "attacker" coming toward her and remembered why the crash happened in the first place. She went for her seatbelt but it was stuck. Panic set in. "Oh my God, he is still coming to get me! Even with there being an accident?! Oh for Christ's sake!" She tried to wriggle free from the seatbelt but it was too late. He was already at the car.

The man went straight for the back door on her side of the car. "Great he's going to rob me first" Leann thought. He pulled out some bags that had fallen on the floor, and much to Leann's surprise, a man, apparently unconscious from the bags falling on his head in the crash. Leann was speechless, eyes widened and mouth agape frozen in shock. Her attacker turned savior approached her door. "This was what I was trying to warn you about at the gas station. This guy slipped into your backseat while you weren't looking My cell phone finally got a steady signal so I could call for help. Police and an ambulance are on the way. Are you ok?"

That was a lot for Leann to absorb. She shook off the shock and gave a delayed response, "Yeah...I'm...I'm ok." She looked in his eyes, they were not the cold eyes of a killer, but the kind eyes of a good samaritan. "Ok good", he said with a comforting smile, and ran over to check on the family in the other car. "Thank you." she whispered as she closed her eyes, embarrassed about her assumptions and her naivete in allowing an intruder into her car. Finally she was safe.