A woman had a distressing experience as she was trying to utilize a rest stop bathroom in Florida. Through several videos, she speaks about her terrifying, alleged, experience and what happened afterwards. She uses her video as a way to warn others so that they don’t experience the same thing.
Ebony (@ebonyy143) was visiting Ocala, Florida, and pulled over to use the bathroom at a rest stop. She claims she sat down on the toilet when she saw and heard somebody running into the bathroom. They ran into the stall next to Ebony and she said she “didn’t think anything of it” initially. But when she looked down, she didn’t see anybody’s feet in the stall. She looked up, which is when she noticed somebody quickly ducking down. This “disturbed” Ebony, who froze up and was unable to take a second look out of fear.
Eventually, Ebony gained the courage to look a second time and saw a man was staring at her. He was doing things of an explicit nature while watching her. Ebony felt violated and said, “I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.” She immediately pulled her pants up without cleaning herself and grabbed her phone, running out of the bathroom to safety. The man fled the bathroom as quickly as he arrived.
In an update video, Ebony alleges that she ran toward the man and chased after him because she “didn’t want him to get away.” She chased the man through dozens of trucks in the parking lot. Ebony’s husband and security arrived at the scene to help her. But by the time they looked for him, he was already gone. The security guard apologized to Ebony and said this isn’t the first time they’ve experienced an incident like that here. The guard told her they believe he’s a trucker who looks for women who are alone so that he can prey on them.
To make matters worse, Ebony claims the Florida Department of Transportation won’t spend to install any more cameras at the rest stop. This means that they have very few cameras around the rest stop area and they don’t intend to put in any more. It leaves a wide open area for many people to experience something as horrifying as Ebony did that night. Florida DOT also isn’t interested in hiring more security in the area.
The video immediately sparked reactions from commenters. Many supported Ebony and tried to help her understand that this scary experience wasn’t her fault. As one commenter stated, “Using a public restroom should NOT be dangerous baby.” Another commenter offered a useful tip: “I don’t stop at rest areas. I always stop at a Starbucks because there are so many of them. They are usually kept clean, I feel safe alone, there’s a changing table, & I can get a coffee if I’m tired!”
Other commenters showed support and stood in solidarity with Ebony after what happened. One commented, “Girl, I hope you know this was not your fault. You were simply using a public restroom, something anyone should be able to do without fear. Please don’t carry the blame for someone else’s actions. You didn’t deserve that.”
