Waitress assaulted, taken in car after chasing men who ditch tab
A waitress at a South Jersey diner was reportedly abducted and beaten up by a group of customers after she confronted them when they tried to leave without paying for their $70 meal.
The horrifying incident happened about 11:15 p.m. Saturday at Nifty Fifty’s in Turnersville, about 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia, where the five alleged dine-and-dashers were confronted by the 20-year-old waitress, WPVI reported.
Surveillance footage obtained by WPVI shows the woman being abducted and thrown inside a white Dodge Durango in which she was assaulted, according to the news outlet.
“The vehicle headed north on Route 42, made a U-turn and was heading south towards Monroe Township, and pushed her out of the vehicle,” Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said.
The woman managed to run back to the restaurant and call police.
She was taken to a local hospital with bruises and a possible concussion, and has since been released.
“She’s obviously traumatized by the event,” Gurcsik said, according to CBS Philly.
“This is a brazen abduction, robbery, aggravated assault, possible kidnapping.”
He said police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down the suspects, three males and two females.
The eatery’s co-owner, Joe Donnelly, said dine-and-dashers at the business are few and far between.
“Our customers are great. This is just a really isolated incident,” Donnelly told CBS Philly.
Diner employee John Hill said he was shocked by the crime.
“Say it ain’t so. As an employee, that makes me feel bad — and mad,” he told WPVI.
Customer Stacie Garris-Oliver of Lindenwold, New Jersey, told the outlet: “This is such a family restaurant. Oh, this is crazy.”
Meanwhile, police encourage anyone who witnesses a crime to contact law enforcement and not to confront the suspects.
“Try and get a license plate obviously, try and be able to identify the accused and call 911. We don’t recommend chasing customers in the parking lots,” Gurcsik said.
