Aileen Wuornos: The Hitchhike Where Politeness Saved Two College Students

A Fateful Hitchhike in 1989

• 🌴 In 1989, college friends Jake Russo and Mike Carter were late for a spring break rendezvous in Florida.
• 🛣️ To reach their destination, the Sunset Palms Motel near Daytona Beach, they decided to hitchhike on Highway 1.
• 🚗 A rusted Pontiac Firebird stopped, driven by a woman named Lee with a silent passenger.

A Chilling Turn of Events

• ⛽ The driver, Lee, veered into a gas station and drove off without paying for fuel.
• 🔫 Lee then pulled out a .22 revolver, asking if the boys would be "a problem."
• 💬 The brunette passenger intervened, stating, "They're just kids, Lee. Let it go."

The Unveiling of a Serial Killer

• 🏨 Lee dropped them off at the motel, telling them to get out and not look back.
• 📺 Two years later, Jake and Mike recognized the "hitchhiker killer," Aileen Wuornos, on a news report.
• 🚨 Wuornos had murdered seven men execution style over seven months in 1990.

The Reason for Survival

• 🙏 Jake and Mike survived because they treated Lee like a human being, calling her "ma'am" and thanking her.
• 🎯 Wuornos reportedly targeted men who harassed or assaulted her, a behavior the college students avoided.
• 💡 Their politeness became a "hitchhike miracle" that defied the killer's usual pattern.