The Michigan teenager believed she was being lured out of her car with a shirt tied to her windshield. Photos / Facebook, Ashley Hardacre
This was one of NZH Lifestyle's top stories for 2017
As she was getting into her car after work one night, Ashley Hardacre spotted a piece of crumpled clothing on her windscreen.
Figuring someone had just tossed the shirt there, the 19-year-old Michigan teenager tried to use the wipers to brush it off the car - but it was tightly secured underneath them.
She was about to get out of her car to get rid of it - but then remembered something her mother had once told her.
Instead of getting out to unravel the shirt, Ashley put her foot on the pedal and started driving.
What came to mind before she sped off was something she'd heard from her mum and seen on social media, she later told CBS News.
She said she'd heard about predators planting obstructive objects on women's cars to lure them out of their car, to attack them while they were distracted.
On Facebook, Ashley also mentioned she'd noticed two cars parked near her own - one with its engine running. She said she "immediately felt uneasy".
The teen drove away up until she felt safe, then rolled down the window and pulled the shirt off.
"I don't know why the shirt was on my car but it had to have been intentional the way it was put on there," she wrote.
"I really can't think of another reason as to why someone would put it on my car."
She said she will be informing security of the situation and making them walk her to her car from now on.
Taupō mum of two Emma Kettlewell was diagnosed with cancer a year ago.