A year ago
In 2015, a Florida woman, Cheryl Treadway used the Pizza Hut app to get police help. Her boyfriend held her hostage with her children and took her phone away. She convinced him to let her use the phone to order a pizza. She put in the special request section: "Please help. Get 911 to me."
While Cheryl Treadway's use of the Pizza Hut app to seek help during a hostage situation is a remarkable and life-saving episode, some lesser-known details add depth to this extraordinary story. Firstly, it's worth noting that the Pizza Hut employees who received Cheryl's order took immediate action. They recognized the urgency of her message in the special request section and promptly called the authorities, resulting in a swift response by the police. This highlights the importance of awareness and quick thinking on the part of the Pizza Hut staff.
Additionally, Cheryl's resourcefulness and calm thinking in a terrifying situation played a pivotal role in her family's safety. She managed to use the pizza order as a coded message to convey her distress without alerting her captor. This subtle act of seeking help showcases the power of innovation and courage in the face of adversity. Cheryl's quick thinking likely saved her life and the lives of her children.
Furthermore, this incident had a positive ripple effect, shedding light on the importance of educating both the public and frontline workers about recognizing distress signals in unusual situations. Since then, similar cases have spurred conversations about the need for emergency services to consider alternative forms of communication beyond traditional phone calls, especially in cases where victims may be unable to speak freely. Police arrived, and her boyfriend was arrested.
"I've been with the company for 28 years and I've never seen nothing like that ever," Pizza Hut Manager Candy Hamilton told ABC News today. "We didn't even question it, we immediately called 911."
Nickerson is facing charges including aggravated assault with a weapon, battery, kidnapping and obstruction of justice. He is being held on a $45,000 bond.
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