LEFT FOR DEAD: HOW MARY SURVIVED

THE TEENAGE HITCHHIKER CROSSED PATHS WITH EVIL

- April Glover

America in the 1970s was an extraordinarily different time. Children would regularly play outside from dawn until dusk without any supervision, bikes were ridden without helmets and women didn’t think twice about hitching a ride down a highway at night.

Hitchhiking was a popular way of getting around the United States and girls would be found waving their thumbs at passing trucks. Most were lucky enough to leave unscathed after hopping into a stranger’s car. In 1978, Mary Vincent was aged just 15 when she decided to become one of those hitchhikers. Sadly, she was not quite so lucky.

The Las Vegas teen was hailing a ride in Berkeley, California, on September 29, 1978, when she unwittingly crossed paths with evil.

Mary flagged down a passing truck driven by 51year-old Lawrence Singleton, believing him to be a kindly old man who could drive her home to Nevada.

After enough time passed, Mary felt comfortable enough to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. But when she awoke, she noticed Singleton had driven past Interstate 5, where she planned on getting out.

Mary demanded Singleton drive her back, which he obliged. But a few kilometers down the highway, Singleton pulled the truck over and insisted he needed to urinate.