Kidnapping victim speaks on his encounter - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

An Albany man thought he was going to die when a man with a gun carjacked him. The gunman approached Anthony Pittman's car at the corner of Davis and Mercer, got inside the car, and forced him to drive. Luckily, Pittman managed to escape.

Pittman was on his way to visit his cousin who had just given birth, but that trip could've easily been his last as he stared down the barrel of a gun wondering how he was going to make it home alive.

Anthony Pittman is glad to be back home with his wife, someone he thought we would never see again.

"The only thing flashing across my mind was my life. It's like my life was over when I saw the gun. I knew I was dead," he said.

Pittman was driving slowly though the intersection of Davis Street and Mercer Avenue around 8:30 with his window down when a man walked up to his car and shoved a gun in his face.

"He had the gun to my head and he told me unlock the car. He still had the gun pointed at my car and he got in the car and told me to drive to the nearby alley."

Pittman followed his orders, and drove several blocks at gunpoint to the West Lincoln Alley where he made his escape.

"I had my hand on the door handle so I was going to try and jump out. When he gave me the opportunity, I went ahead and jumped out with the car still moving."

The carjacker got away in Pittman's brown 1995 Chevy Lumina with Georgia License plate AKY 3867. He also stole his wallet and cell phone.

"My life is more precious than a car and money. I can get that back," he said.

No car. No phone. But alive. Still hopeful though the gunman who took it gets caught. 

The Lumina was recovered this afternoon Avalon Avenue. Pittman says his robber was young, probably around 19, wearing jeans, a white shirt, black jacket and had a silver handgun.

If you have any information about the carjacking, call Crime stoppers at 436-TIPS.

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