NORTH RIDGEVILLE —  For 30 minutes that seemed like an eternity, Tom Dake was at the mercy of a carjacker who kept a gun pointed at his head  and ordered him to drive around Cleveland’s east side.

Dake, a former North Ridgeville Board of Education president, said he did his best to stay cool and think clearly after the man jumped into his car on July 16.

“The biggest thing is that the calmer you are, the better your chances are.”

Dake, 53, kept trying to assess his odds of breaking free, not knowing if the man eventually intended to let him go or shoot him.

“With a gun inches from your skull, unless you’re lightning quick, you have no prayer of pulling it off.”

A North Ridgeville resident since 1976, Dake’s face is a familiar one around town, as is that of his son, Tom Dake II, who serves as co-chairman of the North Ridgeville Corn Festival.

From 1999 to 2007, Dake Sr. served on the school board, including three years as president.

“I was board president during 9/11 and the schools got faxes from the FBI telling us to stay as calm as possible,” said Dake. “It was funny, but that was the first thing I thought of during this. It’s kind of weird.”

His kidnapper never fired his gun but did hit Dake in the mouth and head twice with it, which required 14 stitches.

“I’m healing up just fine now.”

Cleveland police recovered Dake’s Chevy Tahoe less than an hour after he was released by the gunman, who is still being sought.

Dake, who works in Cleveland, was leaving a nighttime union meeting at East 30th Street and Chester Avenue when the carjacking began.

Dake said he put his briefcase on the rear seat before getting in, starting the ignition, and buckling his seat belt.

“Right then, the passenger door opened. This guy jumped in and put a gun right in my side. He said, ‘You know what this is?’ ”

He said he knew that if he tried to unbuckle his seat belt so he could flee, the man would think he was going for his gun. So he decided to bide his time.

The man ordered him to drive near Fleet and Broadway on Cleveland’s east side.

“When the car was moving, I figured the guy wasn’t going to shoot me,” said Dake.

Dake repeatedly tried to get the gunman to talk to him, but his efforts failed.

“He got more belligerent and incoherent each time. I knew that plan was out.”

The man kept telling Dake where to drive and turn. Dake deliberately turned the wrong way or missed several turns, claiming his mistakes were made out of fear and nerves. Each time the gunman quickly ordered him back on course, saying, “Go where I tell you or I’ll shoot you.’”

They finally ended up in an alley where the man shut off the engine, grabbed Dake’s car keys and got out. He grabbed Dake’s wallet and watch, and then hit him with the butt of the handgun on his head and in the mouth.

“I was spitting blood all over the place.”

When the attacker ordered Dake to take off his shirt, he had had enough.

“I refused. ‘If I’m going, I’m going on my own terms,’ I thought. ‘I’ve done all I could to get out of this.’ ”

The carjacker stood there looking at him for 10 to 15 seconds, then got back in the vehicle and drove off.

Dake began walking to look for help, which came in the form of two women who drove him to a fast-food restaurant at Broadway and East 60th Street, where Dake called his wife.

He was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center and then to EMH Avon Emergency Care Center.

“I had a CAT scan, stitches, the whole bit. They took really good care of me.”

The carjacker would face charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault.

Dake recalled two more carjackings that occurred in the next few days. Both of those drivers were killed.

“We have so many breaths in this world. I guess I have a few more left.”

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

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