65-year-old says man held knife to her throat at McDonald's

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Edna Johnson, 65, now realizes that her life could've been taken early Sunday morning at a McDonald's drive thru.

"I wasn't scared until later, when it was over," Johnson said.

She was at the McDonald's on Cherry Road at Interstate 77 in Rock Hill waiting at the drive thru menu board before sunrise. She was getting upset that no one had taken her order yet.

The next thing she knew, there was a man at her open car window, with a knife to her throat.

She said when he first came up, he said, "Hey, give your money or I'll cut you," but she told him she didn't have any money and handed him her small change purse.

"He said, 'Do you want me to cut you? You don't have no $100 bills?' I said, 'I don't have any money. I'm on a fixed income,' and I just sped off!" she said.

Racing out of the McDonald's parking lot, she realized how angry she was and decided to follow the man. She saw him walk to the Econo Lodge next door on Riverview Road and get into a silver Mercury minivan. She stayed behind him.

"I followed him down Cherry Road, got the tag number, and called 911," she said. "He made me so mad."

About 30 minutes later, Rock Hill police answered a call about someone panhandling at a Waffle House on South Anderson Road.

Police spotted the silver van with the tag number Johnson had given them. They arrested 48-year-old Wayne Scott Burns, who also goes by Scotty, and Johnson identified him as the man who tried to rob her.

Police said it's rare that a victim is able to help wrap up a case so quickly.

"She didn't panic. She did everything right. Her information was outstanding, and she made our work much easier," said police spokesman Mark Bollinger.

Johnson volunteers delivering meals to the elderly in Rock Hill. She told Channel 9 this crime could've happened to anyone. She wanted to make sure it didn't happen again.

"No one should get by with doing something like that. Nobody," she said.

A check of Burns' criminal history reveals a lengthy record that stretches back to the mid-80s. Burns also has a prior conviction for armed robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On Monday, he was being held on a $600,000 bond.

Johnson said her children were upset at her for being out so early in the morning. She told them that she knew she did the right thing.

WSOC