Quick-thinking teen foils gunpoint kidnapping by crashing into a cop car to alert police about a woman 'who forced her to drive 90 miles to Philadelphia'



A brave New Jersey teenager thwarted a woman’s efforts to kidnap her when she deliberately slammed the car she was allegedly forced to drive to Philadelphia into a police cruiser, according to officials.

Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor says the incident unfolded Friday in Wildwood, when 45-year-old Floribert Nava demanded that the girl drive her to the home of the family that had adopted a recently born child.

Taylor says Nava wanted the child for herself.

Busted: Floribert Nava, 45, was arrested after police say she forced a teenage girl to drive her from New Jersey to Philadelphia at gunpoint

As the teen drove on the Ben Franklin Bridge, she saw a police cruiser parked on the shoulder. She purposely hit it and jumped out to tell the officer what had happened.

Nava was arrested on a slew of charges, including kidnapping.

Police say at around 9.30am, the girl was forced into the car in Wildwood, New Jersey, by Nava, who had a history with her. The 45-year-old woman had been in a dispute over the adoption of a newborn baby.



The child had been adopted by a family in Philadelphia, but Nava wanted the baby for herself, so she forced the teen to drive her to the home of the adoptive parents by threatening her with an airsoft pistol - a gun that shoots plastic pellets, according to ABCNews.com.

Just before noon, after driving for about 90 minutes, the teen and Nava reached the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Long way to go: The teen drove 90 miles from New Jersey to the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia

That is when police say the quick-thinking girl turned the wheel and slammed into a Delaware River Port Authority police car that was assisting a stranded motorists on the shoulder of the span.

When the car came to a stop, the teen jumped out and alerted Officer Mark Pawloski, who arrested Nava on the spot after learning that the woman had allegedly kidnapped the girl at gunpoint.

‘I don't know if it saved her life,’ Taylor told NBC Philadelphia , ‘but it certainly was a smart move by the victim to get the attention of the police officer by basically side-swiping his vehicle.’

Bumper cars: The teen spotted a Delaware River Port Authority vehicle (not pictured) on the shoulder of the bridge and slammed into it to alert police

Officers then searched the car, seizing a bag containing duct tape, trash bags and latex gloves.

The 45-year-old woman had been charged with kidnapping, making terrorist threats and two weapons possession counts.

Nava is being held in the Cape May County Correctional Center on $400,000 bail.



