Woman arrested for kidnapping man with autistism, stealing his car in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — A woman is accused of kidnapping Griffin Haire, 18, a man with autism, and stealing his Mini Cooper with him inside on Thursday. The incident began at a Circle K gas station on Tyvola Road in southwest Charlotte, where the woman drove away with Griffin Haire in the car.

You can hear their exchange on the 40-minute dash cam video as 44-year-old Amanda Gills allegedly drove him all around Charlotte.

“Who are you? I’m scared of strangers,” Griffin Haire could be heard saying in the video.

“I’m your designated driver. You are under the influence, and I have to drive for you,” Gills said, trying to convince her passenger.

“Oh no, there’s a monster,” he said. “I’m scared.”

Griffin Haire’s father, Dave Haire, said his son called moments earlier to say he had lost his keys.

Dave Haire then heard panic in his son’s voice and a woman yelling in the background.

“Just come on,” Gills said as she continued to drive. I’m going to show you what the old times were like in Charlotte.”

“I obviously could tell that she was not right, just on the phone and the way she was talking,” Dave Haire said. “It just wasn’t making sense.”

Police records show the woman drove across Charlotte from Tyvola Road, along Independence Boulevard, and to W.T. Harris Boulevard.

During the ordeal, Griffin Haire stayed on the phone, giving his family his location as they relayed every turn to 911.

“What happened yesterday was one of the scariest things that you could imagine happening, and it is our worst fears come to life,” David Haire said.

Dash cam video also captured the moment police finally closed in.

Police arrested Gills after Griffin Haire jumped from the stopped car at East W.T. Harris Boulevard and North Tryon Street.

His family expressed gratitude for his safe return, though he remains traumatized.

“I’m very proud of him,” David Haire said. “He was brave. He was scared. He was brave, and he is here safe. It was a complete coordinated effort from start to finish, and we are here. It could have been a different outcome.”

Griffin Haire doesn’t even want to get back into the car he once loved.

Gills was arrested and charged with second-degree kidnapping, larceny of a motor vehicle, and fleeing to elude arrest while in a motor vehicle.