CORONA, CA – A seemingly routine car accident on a sunny Wednesday morning quickly turned into a nightmare for a local businessman, Donald Pierre, along the 15 Freeway. While driving his Tesla, Pierre was rear-ended near Indian Truck Trail, leading to a series of events that he could never have anticipated.
Shaken by the collision, Pierre immediately called his wife, Sandra, and stepped out of his vehicle to assess the damage. However, what followed was far from ordinary. He was swiftly attacked, choked, and thrown to the ground by a group of men who had appeared to be good Samaritans at first glance.
Sandra, still on the phone with her husband, initially believed help was on the way. But the situation rapidly turned sinister as she realized the men were not there to assist but to commit a violent robbery. “I just heard a struggle,” she recounted, her voice filled with disbelief and fear.
Pierre described the attackers as four men with foreign accents. They brutally assaulted him, threatening his life while demanding he lead them to his home in a nearby upscale, gated community in Corona. The men forced Pierre into their silver Ford SUV, while one of them commandeered his Tesla, leaving the scene with both vehicles.
Meanwhile, Sandra, believing her husband was driving the Tesla, tracked the car using its GPS system, thinking he was disoriented from the crash. Unbeknownst to her, Pierre was already at home, held captive by three of the assailants who were ransacking their residence and seizing valuables, including designer bags and watches.
Pierre managed to escape to a neighbor’s house as the intruders fled, allowing him to contact authorities. Sandra, realizing too late that she was following a thief, not her husband, continued her pursuit of the Tesla. Her heart raced as she tracked the vehicle to a shopping center in Buena Park, 30 miles away. There, she recorded the thief abandoning the car and walking away with a Gucci satchel filled with cash.
Reflecting on their ordeal, the Pierres expressed gratitude for their safety and urged others to exercise caution in similar situations. “If you get hit, think twice about getting out of your car. Keep moving and call the police immediately,” they advised, hoping their story would serve as a stark warning to others.