In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Don Davis was approached by a stranger and taken on the ride of his life.

The third-year Ohio State law student from Greensboro, N.C., said he was approached and carjacked while walking to his car in a parking lot behind Haiku Poetic Food and Art, a Short North restaurant.

“He was a black male, between 180-190 pounds, 5-foot-10 to 5-foot-11,” he said.

Davis said the man tried to strike up a conversation, but he ignored him. The man continued to follow him. Davis refused the man’s request for a ride.

“I opened up my car and he wrenched himself in,” Davis said. “He told me I was gonna take him wherever he wanted to go.”

Terrified and unsure whether the stranger was carrying a weapon, he complied.

According to Davis, the man smelled of alcohol, was obviously drunk and claimed to have marijuana.

Amanda Ford, a spokesperson for the Columbus Division of Police, said the man wanted to be taken home. While the two were heading northbound on High Street, the man instructed Davis to go eastbound on Fifth Avenue, she said.

“How much farther do you want me to go?” Davis said to the man. He was told to “keep going.”

The stranger kept telling Davis to change his speed, and Davis said the man kept saying, “You’re really pissing me off, man! You’re really pissing me off!”

Davis said the two took a left on Joyce Avenue from Fifth Avenue.

“Shortly after we turned on Joyce, I pulled over and told him I wouldn’t go further,” he said. “He reached over, turned my car off and took the keys.”

Davis leapt from the car and began to run, hearing his car speed away.

Davis ducked behind a dumpster and called 911. Police arrived a few minutes later.

About 15 minutes after they arrived, Columbus police informed Davis that they had found his car.

Ford said police took Davis to the scene at Mock Road and Woodland Avenue. Police told Davis the carjacker had backed into a pole and left the car after he saw a police car driving in the opposite direction.

“I’m just happy I had the presence of mind to pull over and get out of the vehicle,” Davis said. “I have no idea if he’s going to come back in the area.”

Columbus police listed the carjacking as a robbery.

Carjackings aren’t a huge problem in the area. Ford said cars being stolen outright is a much bigger problem.

She said people who leave their cars running unattended can wind up having them stolen.

“The most important thing is people should have their doors locked when driving down the road,” she said. “Be leery of suspicious people; be cautious of your surroundings.”

As of publication time, the suspect was still unknown.

Chris Alexis can be reached at [email protected].