A man kidnapped in Edgewood early Monday, then bound and forced into a car he had rented and driven to Baltimore, escaped after the car crashed, police said.
Frederick Coleman, 25, of Aberdeen, had been walking to a friend?s house in the 1700 block of Fountain Rock Way, off Brookside Drive in Edgewood, when the kidnapping happened, police said.
Two men dressed in black, one holding a handgun, ordered Coleman to lie face down on the ground, robbed him, then tied his hands behind his back with his belt, said Sgt. David Betz, a Harford County Sheriff?s Office spokesman.
Investigatorssaid they believed Coleman knew at least one of his attackers, but would not reveal how.
“We don?t want anyone thinking this was a random act of violence,” Betz said.
Coleman was ordered to lie on the back seat of the car behind the driver?s seat, with the gunman sitting beside him and the other suspect driving, Betz said.
Investigators don?t know the kidnappers? intended destination, he said.
Coleman managed to loosen the belt enough to free his hands, fight with the man in the back and take control of the handgun, police said.
During the struggle, the driver bailed out of the car, leaving it in gear, and the car crashed into a light pole. The second suspect fled after the car hit the pole, Betz said.
No shots were fired.
Officer Troy Harris, a Baltimore police spokesman, said the crash occurred around 1:45 a.m. in the 700 block of Orleans Street, near Broadway on the east side of the city.
Betz said police did not know a motive for Coleman?s kidnapping, though he did not believe it to be gang-related.
