A Woman’s Worst Nightmare

In a TikTok video that’s gone insanely viral with more than 41 million views, Celeste and Savannah were at the end of their night shift at Olive Garden when they decided to hang out in her parked car and “chit-chat for a second.”

Two hours later, still in the parking lot, they were chatting about posting on TikTok and randomly started recording. In the video, the two women are laughing and having a good time in their car when, less than a minute in, they suddenly pause.

Off-camera, a woman is screaming.

At first, they think someone is play fighting. But they quickly realize that something is horribly wrong. “Savannah, should we go over there?” Celeste asks.

Savannah immediately goes into full-on beast mode, ready to throw hands.

“Are you okay?” she yells out the window. “B*ch I’m gonna whoop your a** if she’s not okay!”

“Do you want me to drive over there?” Celeste asks while simultaneously putting the car into gear, her phone clattering to the floor.

As the heartbreaking screaming and crying continues, the camera pans to a white vehicle and what appears to be a woman on the ground and a man bent over her. A second later, the video cuts out.

The text overlay simply reads:

“My best friend and I were trying to record a cute little video and we witnessed a girl being thrown around in the parking lot.”

In the caption Celeste provides a small update, “Everyone made it home safe but that wasnt even the end of the day 😭😭.”

The TikTok has garnered significant attention online, with commenters praising the women for their quick and brave response to a woman obviously in need of serious help.

“I wish there were people like you guys around when this happened to me 🥲 everyone watched me get thrown around on a main road.”

“The way your demeanor changed SO FAST”

“the way yall jumped into action 🤌 you really saved her.”

“So many people would have sat there. Thank you for doing something!”

Everything Turned Out Okay

In a follow-up video, Celeste provides more context and explains that the woman was a victim of domestic abuse.

“It was a man and a girl — like boyfriend/girlfriend — fighting. Um, he was throwing her around, beating her, choking her. Like, at one point he dumped all her stuff out on the floor.”

As soon as they heard the woman screaming, Celeste and Savannah, who admit to being “girls’ girls through and through,” weren’t messing around. As they drove up to help her, the man started shouting at them, warning them to stay away.

Afraid for their safety and the safety of the victim, Savannah immediately called 9-1-1.

Thankfully there was already a police officer in the area. He was there within mere moments. As he was pulling into the parking lot the victim took the chance to run over to Celeste’s car, seeking refuge in her back seat.

Celeste and Savannah spent the next hour driving the woman somewhere she’d be safe. But after experiencing 3 popped tires in a freak road accident along the interstate to Atlanta, they eventually had to call her an Uber to take her the rest of the way.

In a further follow-up, Celeste reveals that the woman did, in fact, make it home safely, and her abuser was arrested at the scene.

Choosing to Act

Not everyone is as lucky as this woman was to have strangers willing to put themselves in harm’s way and intervene on her behalf.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), 24 people are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States EVERY MINUTE. More than 12 million women and men become victims of domestic violence every year.

These statistics are sobering.

By refusing to just stand by and do nothing, Celeste and Savannah proved the critical role bystanders can play in preventing and addressing acts of violence.

And while it’s not advisable to put oneself in danger, it is important for us to look out for each other and take action when someone is in need.