A Florida teen fought for her life after a man allegedly attempted to abduct her. Now, she’s telling her story.
The 16-year-old girl, identified as Valerie by local outlet WSVN, was walking in her neighborhood in South Miami in the morning of Thursday, Feb. 20, when Brian Gamboa allegedly tried to attack and kidnap her, police told CBS News Miami.
Gamboa, 32, a New York native living in South Miami, attempted to drag and force Valerie into his car, she recalled to WSVN. “He stopped and came out of the car, and he was drunk. Really wobbly,” she told the Fox affiliate. “He just screamed, ‘Shush,’ and he went for my arm.”
Gamboa, who is 6 feet tall according to police records viewed by PEOPLE, then “started attacking me,” Valerie told CBS News Miami.
She added that he “grabbed me by my shoulders” and “started hitting me in the back of my head,” before she detailed how she “fought back.”
“I threw my phone at him,” Valerie told CBS News Miami. “I started kicking him, I started screaming and stuff. And then I started punching him.”
The attack escalated quickly, however, when Gamboa allegedly pushed Valerie onto the ground, and she “dragged him down with me,” she recalled to the outlet. “Then I kicked him in the crotch [and] in the head and then I ran off.”
As Valerie ran for help, screaming at a neighbor’s door, Gamboa fled the scene, CBS News Miami reported.
Gamboa was later involved in a hit-and-run crash in a nearby restaurant parking lot, according to police, after which he was taken into custody by Miami-Dade Sheriff’s officers, WSVN reported. That is when Valerie was able to identify him as her attacker, per CBS News Miami.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Feb. 22.
Gamboa appeared to sustain injuries in the altercation and following crash, as visible cuts can be seen on his forehead in his mugshot. The Miami teen, meanwhile, escaped with just a knee injury, which she showed on camera while speaking with WSVN.
“I pushed him off with this leg,” she told the outlet, “so I can’t bend this knee right now.”
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Beyond her physical reminders of the attack, however, Valerie said she is struggling to move on from the frightening altercation.
“It was really scary. I’m okay, except the fact that my knee is messed up,” she told WSVN. “I got pretty lucky, like, it could have been way worse for me. I didn’t want to have a story like that. I didn’t want to have his impact on my life like that, so I was just fighting.”
The teen is now “trying to get over it,” she told CBS News Miami.
“Hopefully, he goes to jail for a very long time. I don’t think this man should ever be on the street again,” she added to the outlet, before sharing the message she wants others to take away from the situation.
“Always fight back,” Valerie urged, “no matter how scary the situation is, and always scream for help.”
Gamboa was charged with attempted kidnapping and battery of a child and was placed under house arrest, according to arrest records viewed by PEOPLE.
He posted his $30,000 bond on Feb. 20, but will not be released from custody until he is fitted with an ankle monitor.
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