In a terrifying moment of panic, a nursing student in Alabama made a smart decision that could have been the difference between life and death.  When Brittany Diggs, 25, was kidnapped by an armed robber and forced into the trunk of her car, she used the light on her insulin pump to escape and reach safety.  

On Tuesday, Diggs was approached by a gunman outside of her apartment building and was forced to drive to ATMs in Birmingham to withdraw cash. When Diggs tried to explain that she was just a student and didn’t have money, the robber forced her into the trunk while he drove to different ATMs. 

After several failed attempts using her bank card, the robber said he would try one more time, and that he would kill her if it didn’t work.

"The whole time he's driving, he's, like, just, he's yelling at me from the front seat, 'You're lying. I know you have something. Give me your money,'" Diggs told the Today Show.

While the man was in a gas station attempting to use her card, Diggs came up with the idea to use the light on her insulin pump to light the latch that will open the trunk from the inside.

"I just got the bright idea to use my insulin pump light, which is not a bright light, but it was bright enough to see," Diggs told Today. "So I had to put it right on top of it to look and see for the latch."

When the gunman returned, Diggs knew it was time to escape.

"I'm holding the latch like this, waiting for him to get back in the car. He gets in [and] he's yelling ... and I feel the car reversing, and he's pulling out pretty fast, so I'm, like, 'Oh shoot — I better get out of here.'"

When Diggs ran into the station, owner Yosef Al Sabah helped her hide while he phoned for help.

"As he was leaving, I saw the trunk popped up and a woman jumped out of the trunk and came inside the store. I let her inside a safe place and locked the door and called the police," said Sabah.

Police have not yet found the suspect. Although they found Diggs’s car, she wants nothing to do with it because of the trauma she endured.

Now, friends of Diggs have launched a GoFundMe page to help her raise money to relocate.