Ananda Mallory was surprised to hear an unfamiliar voice when she called her boyfriend on Friday on his 37th birthday.
What this stranger said was even more disturbing.
“I said, ‘hi, honey,’ and on the other end of the line I heard a strange voice saying, ‘I’m sorry, I had to take your boyfriend’s or your husband’s truck. ‘” Mallory said.
Her boyfriend, Joshua Ross, a high school teacher, had just been robbed by a man leading a dangerous police chase in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
It was at a Corona Shell station that Ross’ car was stolen by a man, who then took Ross’ beloved truck on a dangerous chase. Ross and his girlfriend had planned to meet for dinner later, but plans quickly changed.
“All the time (I thought), if I had just put in gas last night, this never would have happened,” Ross said.
Inside Ross’ truck was all of his belongings, including his cell phone, which Ross’ girlfriend says she called during the chase. Mallory says for 30 minutes she tried to keep the driver on the phone so she could track his location.
Mallory, who is also a teacher, said she speaks to him in a humanizing way, as she does with her students.
“I always tell my students: calm body, calm mind,” Mallory said. But the man “started telling me, ‘It’s okay, the police are going to kill me. This is my last day here.'”
The man assured her that Ross was uninjured, Mallory said.
Telemundo 52
Mallory said he heard the noise as the suspect fired at the pursuing officers. Moreover, he says, he also held his breath when he quickly came to an intersection where children from a school were crossing the street.
“Right away I went into teacher mode, I said ‘Don’t dare, don’t dare. If your kids see this, they should know that’s what you’re interested in,” Mallory said.
Eventually, the driver was taken into custody and no one was seriously injured.
Ross was unable to return to his teaching job and his family set up a GoFundMe account to help him buy a new car.
He is grateful for his life and the heroic actions of his girlfriend.
“She’s a hero. Really, if she had been in certain situations, I would have reacted differently if I hadn’t talked to her,” Ross said. “She’s good at calming me down.”
This story first appeared on Telemundo 52’s sister station NBCLA. Click here to read this story in English.