Man injured, truck totaled as he helps woman escape Jasper County kidnapper

JASPER COUNTY, SC A man who rescued a woman kidnapped in Estill on Tuesday was chased by the woman's kidnapper until he was forced into a road sign in front of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, according to a report from WTOC.

Avery Jones was getting food from a gas station when a woman told him she needed help. She told Jones she had been kidnapped and asked him to "get her out of there," the WTOC report said. She said she had escaped from the trunk of her captor's car.

Jones said the woman was in distress; her eyes were swollen and there was blood on her legs. After offering to take her to the Sheriff's Office, he noticed a Honda Accord following his truck, the WTOC report said.

Driving the Honda, according to Jasper County Sheriff's deputies, was 18-year-old Raekwon Smart, the woman's alleged kidnapper. Smart crashed into the back of Jones' truck multiple times, eventually forcing him into a sign outside the sheriff's office, according to the sheriff's office. Jones suffered minor injuries in the wreck and his truck was totaled, as was Smart's car. No information about the kidnapping victim's condition was available, the WTOC report said.

Smart tried to run from the crash, but was arrested by deputies who witnessed the crash. He was charged with two counts of assault and battery.

Jones said he's not a hero, and just did what any good person would do.

"I would do that for anybody," he said. "Any mother, grandparent, baby or child. I'm just a good citizen."

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Man injured, truck totaled as he helps woman escape Jasper County kidnapper."