Woman cleverly dials 911 under the guise of ordering pizza to save herself from being assaulted

Trigger Warning: This article contains details of sexual assault that may be distressing to readers.

Women are constantly on edge when they leave their homes. There is always some form of danger or a predator lurking in the shadows, seeking to exploit moments of vulnerability. In an alarming incident on October 19, 2024, in Florida, an unnamed woman used her quick thinking to escape a dangerous situation. According to a video shared by ABC 7 Chicago, a distressed woman dialed 911 and pretended to order a pizza, cleverly alerting authorities to her situation and location.

When the police traced the call and arrived at her location, they found a man about to assault the woman. He was promptly arrested and later identified as Luis Diego Hernandez Moncayo. The woman, who had been sharing a couple of drinks in an open field in Pierson, Florida, told the officers that Moncayo had done a "line of cocaine and did a 180." Sensing that her life was in danger, she dialed 911 under the guise of ordering a pizza, calmly informing the dispatcher of her location.

A recording of the distress call and bodycam footage from the responding officers was released to the media by the Volusia Sheriff's Office. The woman's voice in the recorded call was altered to protect her identity, but it was evident that she was struggling to stay calm while informing the dispatcher about her crisis. Unable to disclose her exact location, she asked the 911 operator to confirm that they had her location. In ABC 7 Chicago's YouTube video, Sheriff Mike Chitwood revealed that their "communications team was able to triangulate her phone's location." The 911 operator understood the severity of the situation and asked the woman how many people were around her. 

"Just me and him," she replied during the call, then said "no" when asked about weapons. The officers had to search the expansive area on foot before finally locating the woman and Moncayo. "Eventually they heard loud music coming from a field," Sheriff Chitwood explained. "When they approached the sound, they discovered a male on top of a screaming female." The bodycam footage from one of the officers showed another police officer running toward the source of the screams. The woman cried out that Moncayo was trying to sexually assault her as she sobbed. The officers ordered Moncayo to get off her and promptly placed him in handcuffs.

The woman repeatedly thanked the officers for rescuing her. Upon investigation, authorities discovered that Moncayo was in the United States illegally and had applied for asylum just a day before he attempted to assault her. According to Business Insider, "911 call centers in the US receive over 240 million calls each year and 80 percent of them are from cell phones." Many of these calls are silent, signaling that the callers are unable to communicate verbally with the 911 operator. However, they are trained to listen closely to the background noises and determine if the call is an actual emergency or an accidental dial.

If you need support, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit RAINN.org to chat online one-on-one with a support specialist at any time.