A couple have come under heavy fire for sharing a video of a woman desperately “signaling for help” by using the domestic violence hand signal while driving past her – before they are accused of faking the incident .
Tony Hernandez and Angel Porrino, of Las Vegas, Nevada, received severe criticism after they uploaded footage to their shared TikTok account that showed them appearing to be trying to rescue a stranger after realizing they were holding the sign with the words “Abuse” up through the car window as they watched her overtake on the freeway.
The couple followed the car the unnamed woman was in until it finally stopped to get gas, and when the driver got out and went to the nearby store – leaving the woman alone – they helped her get into her own vehicle , before they fled to safety .
The dramatic moment garnered millions of views – but many people on the app didn’t buy it, claiming Tony and Angel “staged” the whole thing.
A couple have come under fire for sharing a video of a woman desperately “signaling for help” while driving, using the domestic violence hand signal – before being accused of faking the incident in order to spectators to see
Tony Hernandez and Angel Porrino, of Las Vegas, Nevada, have uploaded footage to their shared TikTok account that shows them appearing to be attempting to rescue the stranger
They said they noticed her holding up the “abuse” sign through the car window as they passed her on the freeway
The couple followed the car inside until it stopped to refuel and when the driver got in and pulled into the nearby shop, leaving the woman alone, they helped her into her own vehicle
In the video, Angel, who was behind the wheel, could be heard telling Tony, who was in the passenger seat and recorded on the video, that she had noticed the passenger of the silver car in the lane across from them making the hand signal had given for help.’
She accelerated so they pulled alongside the vehicle in question when suddenly a woman in a purple sweater and sunglasses held her fingers to the window and opened and closed them into a fist.
The dramatic moment got millions of views – but many people on the app didn’t buy it.
“She did it again, what do we do?” said a desperate angel. “Shall we follow them? I’m going to cry, I’m freaking out a bit.’
The clip then shows Angel appearing to be on the phone with the police as she pulled up right behind the silver car – a Nissan Versa with no plates.
“Hi, I would like to report a case of domestic violence,” she said. “We saw this woman in a car and she asked for help.
“She gave the sign for ‘I need help’ or ‘I’m being abused.’ I don’t know exactly what her specific situation is, but she gave the sign and now we’re following them on the freeway.”
Angel then explained that the police told her they would “send someone” and “stop following them,” but she and Tony decided to do it anyway, just in case the police “couldn’t find them.”
After the woman drove behind the car for a few more minutes, it suddenly drove into a gas station.
In the video, Angel could be heard telling Tony that she had noticed the passenger of the silver car parked in the lane across from them had given the hand signal for “help”.
She accelerated so that they pulled alongside the vehicle in question when suddenly a woman put her fingers to the window and opened and closed them into a fist
The clip then shows Angel appearing to be on the phone with the police as she pulled up right behind the silver car – a Nissan Versa with no plates
“Just stay back, I don’t want him freaking out about you,” Tony warned Angel as she parked behind.
Suddenly, a man in shorts, a yellow and black hoodie, sunglasses and a baseball cap got out of the car and walked into the store.
Taylor and Angel took the opportunity to save the woman.
They pulled up right next to her and Angel fell out of the car.
“Come on, it’s okay, hurry up,” she said to the woman as she opened her car door.
The panicked lady ran into her car and yelled, “Go, go!” before the clip ended.
“Please learn and teach this sign for help,” Tony and Angel added at the end of the TikTok, along with an image explaining how the signal works.
The video has been viewed more than 15 million times but sparked backlash from people who accused them of faking the whole thing.
Suddenly, a man in shorts, a yellow and black hoodie, sunglasses and a baseball cap got out of the car and walked into the store
Taylor and Angel took the opportunity to save the woman. They pulled up right next to her and Angel fell out of the car. “Come with me, everything is fine, hurry up,” she said to the woman
The distraught lady ran into her car and yelled, “Go, go!” before the clip ended
“I’ve seen staged videos but this one is awesome,” one person wrote.
“What a lot…” someone else said. Another viewer added: “I hate fake videos. So many of them now.”
“Faking this to make your video dumb is probably illegal,” a fourth comment said.
“I wasted 10 minutes of my life watching this fake video lol,” said a fifth.
“I hope this isn’t a joke.” “It’s no joke,” commented another user.
In a follow-up video, Taylor responded to allegations that they fabricated the incident.
He didn’t deny it was staged, but insisted the video “does good” and “teaches a lesson.”
The video has been viewed more than 15 million times, but the couple drew backlash from people who accused them of faking the whole thing
In a follow-up video, Taylor responded to allegations that they fabricated the scene. He didn’t deny it was staged, but insisted the video “teaches a lesson.”
![He added: '[We're] I'm literally trying to help and do something good here and you guys are trying to find a way [to discredit it]'](https://www.spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/1691670790_358_A-couple-shares-a-terrifying-video-of-a-car-occupant.jpg "A couple shares a terrifying video of a car occupant driving past holding a 'Domestic Violence' sign frantically asking for help 31")
“You completely miss the point of this video,” he said. “How are you so stupid?” This video does good, it teaches a lesson, it teaches people what [the hand signal] means’
“You people who say that [it’s staged] “If you think you’re going to have that big aha moment, you’re totally missing the point of this video,” he said.
“How are you so stupid?” This video does good, it teaches a lesson, it teaches people what [the hand signal] means.’
“That’s what the video does, that’s the purpose.” You’re all mad, but you don’t get it. You just look stupid
“You should be embarrassed. If you’re one of those people who say “staged” or “this is fake,” you should be ashamed of yourself.
‘[We’re] I’m literally trying to help and do something good here and you guys are trying to find a way [to discredit it].’
He concluded, “Learn the sign, even if you say, ‘Oh, it’s staged,’ absorb the message, learn it, pay attention to it.”