How a 12-year-old Massachusetts girl who escaped a serial killer likely saved the lives of others

Jan. 7, 1994, started out like any other typical winter morning for Rebecca "Becky" Savarese of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There was snow on the ground, and it was bitterly cold as the 12-year-old walked to school. Then, at around 7:10 a.m., at one of the busiest intersections in town, a man came up beside her. "He had a mustache, but he didn't shave. He seemed like a nerd to me," said Savarese. The stranger quickly pulled out a gun and held it up against her.

Becky said the gunman threatened her: "Just do everything I say, everything will be perfectly OK." Then he steered her toward his truck and told her to get in. But Becky refused. "I didn't care if he shot me. I just knew I was not going to get into that truck," she told "48 Hours."

Instead, that's when Becky said she came up with an idea that possibly saved her life. She faked an asthma attack. She explained, "I was like, 'Can I sit down? Can I just sit down a minute?' I was trying to take my backpack off … and he tried to grab me, and he got my backpack and then I just started to run."