Assemblyman’s Aide Flees From Kidnapper
An aide to Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) was carjacked and kidnapped in San Fernando but escaped by jumping from her moving car, police said Wednesday.
Yolanda Fuentes, 26, Cardenas’ district director, had left the assemblyman’s office in the 1200 block of San Fernando Road between 10 and 11 p.m. and was putting items in the car’s passenger seat when a man grabbed her from behind and began choking her, said Det. Jeff Eley of the San Fernando Police Department.
The man eventually forced her into the Saturn compact, then got behind the wheel and sped off, Eley said. As the man turned a corner, Fuentes opened her door and leaped into an intersection.
Fuentes, a Pacoima resident, suffered some scrapes and bruises and was treated at a local hospital. She told police she did not get a good look at her assailant, who remained at large Wednesday.
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