Teen girl followed on way to school by stranger in Salinas

A teen girl in Salinas had quite the scare Monday morning after being followed by a stranger on her way to school.

Salinas Police said say an unknown man approached the girl, started talking to her and walking next to her near williams rd and del monte ave.

As the girl was crossing the street trying to get away from the stranger, she waved down a passing car near Alisal Community School and asked the driver, who she didn’t know, for help.

KION spoke to the driver, Sandra Mendoza, who was able to help take the girl to safety.

“I asked her what’s going on and she said this guys been following me from the other bus stop and I’m scared and I said okay, I unlocked my doors and I told her to get in,” Mendoza said.

She drove the girl to school and they reported the incident to the administration.

Mendoza hopes that if her children were in this situation, a good Samaritan would do the same for them.

“I have kids and it’s scary,” she said. “You never know what could happen.”

Although the girl was able to get to safety, police don’t recommend getting in a strangers car.

“If you find yourself in a situation like this, that you separate yourself from a situation safely by going in a public building, a business,” Salinas Police Department PIO Miguel Cabrera said.

The closest place, in this case, would have been the nearby elementary school.

Cabrera recommends always being aware of your surroundings.

Police searched for the man, but they weren’t able to find him. Mendoza describes him as a man in his 20s wearing gray pants and a black jacket; however, police say no crime was committed here.

“This person did nothing else than start to engage in a conversation with this young lady who walked away,” Cabrera said.