"Were it not for you, I would not be here," said Altheia Scott, the victim in this case.
It was an emotional reunion today as 29-year-old Altheia Scott thanked the woman who took a chance and helped a complete stranger.
"I started running and jumped in front of her car. At first she just rolled down her window and looked at me. Then I was like please, please and she let me in," said Scott.
"The sockets of her eyes were completely black, she was covered in blood and I could tell this woman really needs help," said Milena Galvao, the woman who is being called a Good Samaritan tonight.
Galvao had no idea how much help she needed. At that point, Scott had already been through eight hours of terror.
"This is one of the most violent acts perpetrated in the streets of Capital Region in years," said (D) Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
It all started around midnight on May 28th. Police say that Thomas Lewis, Thomas White and five others dragged Scott from her Albany home, put her in a van and headed to Troy. She was cut, beaten and tortured in an effort to collect ransom from her brother. All the while, her will to survive was strong.
"Hoosick was the first attempt, I almost was out the window but it didn't work," said Scott.
They moved Scott to the trunk of another car, where she overheard a plan to dump her body in the Hudson. At that point, the car was stopped in Schenectady and she decided to try and escape again.
"I felt at the top of the car and it popped open like a little pulley," said Scott.
That's when the two women's path's crossed. Their lives, forever changed.
Scott told us that she has gone through physical therapy for the right side of her body, now wears glasses and is permanently black and blue because of her attack.
The DA's office said that Lewis and White were the two major defendants in this case. They plead guilty to charges in connection with this case today. They each face up to 22 years in state prison. The five others had already plead guilty to other charges in connection with the case.
