What started as police investigating an erratically operated vehicle ended with a car accident and the discovery that the driver had kidnapped his female passenger.

A woman told Rockland Police that she was walking home from work on Wednesday evening when a man jumped from his vehicle wearing a ski mask. She said he attacked her, putting her in a choke hold and rendering her unconscious. The victim says that when she regained consciousness, she was in the man's vehicle.

She says she had never met the suspect before he abducted her. The woman called 911 on her cellphone and told dispatchers that she'd been kidnapped. The events unfolded so quickly that dispatchers didn't have time to alert police before the car was spotted driving erratically at the intersection of Front and Main Streets.

Sergeant Matthew Lindahl spotted the vehicle and attempted to get the driver to stop, but he kept going. . After a short chase, the driver lost control of the vehicle on Pleasant Street and crashed. Police say the driver tried to run but was apprehended by Officer's Gaylor and Cox. Sgt. Lindahl approached the female passenger and that's when they learned that it was an attempted kidnapping.

Shane Hall, 29, of Portland was charged with Kidnapping and Eluding An Officer. The woman's keys and wallet were found at the scene of her abduction. She was taken to PenBay Medical Center to get checked out, as a precaution. Hall was not hurt in the crash.

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