Tuesday 3 November 2020

Two teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, ‘abducted at gunpoint fought off their attacker by grabbing his steering wheel and causing a car crash in Louisiana’

 Two teenage girls who were abducted at gunpoint managed to fight off their attacker by causing a car crash, Louisiana authorities said.

The frightening incident began last Friday when two unidentified girls, aged 14 and 15, took a stroll to a Dollar General store in Livingston Parish.    

The two friends had traveled to the Dollar General before without incident, but that all changed when an SUV approached them on their way home.

WBRZ reports that a man, identified as 39-year-old Albert Lawrence Lavigne Jr., allegedly brandished a gun and forced the young girls into his vehicle.

Lavigne allegedly drove from Livingston Parish to Tangipahoa Parish, about 40 minutes away, with the girls trapped inside.

But the teenagers reportedly began to put up a struggle, with one girl desperately fighting for control of the wheel. 

'I did fight for the wheel for a while and jerked it, and finally won,' the young girl told WBRZ.

One of the teenage girls (left), pictured with her father Phillip Pigott (right), repeatedly fought for the vehicle's steering wheel to cause a car crash

One of the teenage girls (left), pictured with her father Phillip Pigott (right), repeatedly fought for the vehicle's steering wheel to cause a car crash 


Lavigne's vehicle crashed and the two girls were able to escape amid the confusion. One girl called 911 and alerted authorities of the alleged kidnapping.

'We did hit two cars in the process and me and my friend walked out, running for help and these two guys tackled the kidnapper,' the girl told WBRZ.

Lavigne and the two teenagers were transported to a hospital after the incident for minor injuries related to the car crash. 

Phillip Pigott, one of the girl's fathers, told WBRZ that 'this was an excellent outcome' and added he's grateful she's alive.

The two teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, were allegedly abducted while walking to a Dollar General store in Livingston Parish, Louisiana

The two teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, were allegedly abducted while walking to a Dollar General store in Livingston Parish, Louisiana 

'I'm glad I get to see her bruises and stitches...  I'm very proud, very proud that she was able to get out of that situation like she did.'

Pigott, a veteran in the armed services, had taught his daughter how to defend herself should the situation ever arise.

'I told her if that ever happens, fight, fight, fight,' he told WBRZ. 

The Advocate reports that Lavigne was taken into police custody by the Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office as a fugitive and will be transferred to Livingston Parish Detention Center.

He was booked on two counts of second-degree kidnapping. 

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