Creeps, true stories from Reddit (Second book)

Traveling Alone in Florida

Creepy rest stop/ travel story from one of my mother's childhood friends. Here's what she told me.

It was June of 1983, I was a student at a small university in Central Illinois and I was driving to Ft Lauderdale to meet my boyfriend and his family for the week. As it was my 2nd day driving I was planning on driving straight through to South Florida that night. Traveling southbound on I-95, I stopped at a rest area in or not far from Brevard County, Florida. It was around 9 to 10:00 at night and I had just filled up my 1973 Monte Carlo at a truck stop, though I didn't feel comfortable using the restroom for this truck stop felt like an unsavory type of place and I was alone and female. I considered myself pretty street smart due to growing up in Chicago and my father always telling me to be aware of my surroundings or to never trust anyone. Anyways I pull in to this rest area and park right next to the building. There wasn't a single vehicle or soul in sight, all I could hear was the insects in the woods, the distant passing traffic on I-95 and Foreigner, Waiting for a girl like you playing softly on my radio. I immediately felt uneasy about my lonely presence at this dark and deserted rest stop, but felt that if I could just be in and out, I could drive straight through to Ft. Lauderdale. As I walk in to the rest room I'm looking in all directions in a paranoid fashion and I notice by the Hwy entrance ramp, a pickup truck or some type of vehicle parked off road near some the woods. It was very odd, though I thought it was maybe some maintenance or disabled vehicle. As I'm in the restroom, I hear a vehicle outside, but maybe thought it was just someone else using the facility so I thought nothing of it. As I walk outside, I notice that old pickup truck parked across the parking lot from my car, appearing to have nobody in the driver seat. All of a sudden thousands of stories that plagued the newspapers about kidnappings or murders rushed through my mind. Immediately I rush to my vehicle, get in and lock the door. As I turn my vehicle on, I look over and scream! There is a man standing next to my driver side window knocking. He was about 30-35 years old, very unkempt with long hair, baseball hat, overgrown mustache, dirty t-shirt and torn up jeans. As I panicked, he told me to calm down, claiming that he needed a couple of dollars for gas or something along those lines. I said nothing and sped out of there looking in the rear view mirror at this man watching me drive off in to the night. About 20 minutes later on I-95, I've calmed down, telling myself no more rest stops and turned up the radio determined to get where I am going. I'm driving in the inner lane and notice a vehicle approaching me, so I move over to let them pass. As I glance over and I can make out in the dark, the creeper staring at me smoking a cigarette. (Apparently he had plenty of fuel)

At that point full panic took over me and I just didn't know what to do, this was before cell phones and I-95 Florida feels totally desolate at night; I just felt completely helpless. He would get behind me and follow closely with his lights practically blinding me and would occasionally drive in front of me to brake check or drive under the speed limit which was 55 at the time. I was not going to stop anywhere that seemed dark and desolate, but everywhere along that corridor just seemed dark and empty at that time. I was lucky that he never tried to run me off of the road, but I was preparing myself for that as well. Finally after quite some time of playing cat and mouse, which felt longer than my entire road trip itself, I reach an exit with signs of light and life in the Fort Pierce area. I will never forget the name of Fort Pierce, for I immediately felt like my life was saved. I rush off of the exit, approach a gas station/restaurant towards a gathering of cars and truckers, pull in and lean on my horn! A wonderful older man who was a truck driver first comes to my aid as others followed. He was such a lovely man, a father and young grandfather to be exact. Even though he was a stranger I gave him a huge bear hug and told him what was going on, as I look into the distance, I see the creeper driving by just staring at me then speeding off into the night. The older man had his wife with him, they were from Wisconsin and I was from Illinois, needless to say we hit it off immediately. Coincidentally this was the older man's last truck trip before retiring and had his wife come with him for company. She brought me inside the crowded restaurant and bought me some coffee while we waited for police to arrive. I was able to call my boyfriend to tell him what had happened, so he and his brother drove up to Fort Pierce so he could drive the rest of the way with me. The highway patrol searched the area for the creepy guy in the truck, but were unable to find him. I stayed at the restaurant till my boyfriend arrived and actually had a fun time talking with everyone. Everybody knew each other like a huge family from the waitresses to the truckers, treating me like one of their own. Though it was funny when my boyfriend arrived, because they started lecturing us on how dangerous it is for a female to travel alone, especially at night. I will never forget this scary experience and will be forever grateful for that man and woman at the restaurant, I feel like they saved my life.

It's funny how back in the early 80s, the truckers were saying how dangerous it was to travel alone unlike back in their day when people would travel alone or hitchhike with little to no problems. It sounds like older people talking to youngsters today, even though times have actually gotten safer than the 80s and they have cell phones now.lol When people tell me how safe it was growing up in the 70s and 80s or how times aren't safe like they were when we were growing up, I tell them of my horrifying experience and to look at statistics. We were not safer at all, we just didn't have mass media throwing violent stories in our face. Bad things still do happen and I always try to make sure my own kids (whom are of college age) know how gangrenous the world can be at times. Stay safe out there everyone!

Posted by u/Whattaheartwhattasay