The Virginian-Pilot
                               THE LEDGER-STAR 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994             TAG: 9408240724
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   39 lines

WOMAN ESCAPES ABDUCTOR IN COLLISION

Police were looking for a man who abducted, robbed and sexually assaulted a woman before she escaped by running her car head-on into a newspaper delivery truck early today.

The victim, a 21-year-old Norfolk State University student, had just returned to the area to begin fall classes.

Police said she was using a pay telephone near the COGIC high-rise apartment building in the 2400 block of Virginia Beach Blvd. about 2 a.m. When she got off the phone and went to her car, a man who had been sitting in a bus stop shelter nearby pointed a gun at her, made her get in and drive him onto Interstate 264 eastbound.

She got off at the Newtown Road exit, where she saw a newspaper truck and decided her best chance for escape was to run into the truck, police said. She collided with it head-on at 2:26 a.m.

The abductor got out and ran behind a nearby 7-Eleven store.

While he was with her, he went through her purse and fondled her, police said.

The Virginia Beach SWAT team searched the crawl space of a house at the intersection of Bowman Road and Anvers Road, but failed to find the man.

Police are looking for a dark-skinned black man between 19 and 25. He is about 5 feet 7 and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red baseball cap, a white T-shirt with black lettering, tan shorts, and red and black shoes.

The victim was treated and released at a local hospital.

Anyone with information about the crime can call either 441-5100 or 427-0000.

KEYWORDS: ABDUCTION SEX CRIME ROBBERY by CNB