Car salesman kidnapped, put in trunk during test drive: 'Didn’t think it was real'

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Texas car dealer escapes kidnap during test run

Jose Martinez was assaulted, stuffed into a trunk and threatened with a gun.

HOUSTON – What began as a seemingly innocent request for a test drive turned out to be a day of terror for a car salesman in Texas.

It happened Monday afternoon at a Houston car dealership, where two men came in posing as customers looking to test-drive a Dodge Challenger.

At some point during the drive, one of the men took out a gun and forced the salesman, 22-year-old Jose Martinez, into the trunk. According to FOX 26, the employee was able to send off a text message to his boss and when the car came to a stop he used an inside latch to pop the trunk open.

The suspects tried to get him back inside, he said, and during the ensuing fight he grabbed one of the guns and shot one of the men.

“I was in there for like five minutes and I thought, 'this is not going to happen,' Martinez told CNN affiliate KTRK. "I was already setting up my phone and I called the cops to let them know what car I was in, what description it was,” he added.

Police were able to track them down using the salesman's phone, which was still inside the car, but the chase ended on south Dairy Ashford, where the men bailed and ran through a cemetery.

As of Wednesday morning they haven't been caught.

The salesman was beat up, but is expected to recover from his injuries.

“It’s crazy. It’s crazy as hell. I didn’t think it was real,” said Martinez.

Martinez said he did not get a good look at the kidnappers. He was only able to say they were “tall black guys” and one was “6-foot-5 and skinny.”

For more Houston stories, go to fox26houston.com

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