Student recalls 'scary' encounter with Collar

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A University of South Alabama student is recalling a frightening run-in with 18-year-old Gilbert Collar just minutes before Collar was shot and killed by a campus police officer.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, had just left BayFest when he said he had the startling encounter.

"We were approached by a naked man, and he introduced himself as God,” he said. “He was naked, sweaty just saying random crazy things.”

The student said it happened at the stop sign on Stadium Drive.

“I was asking him, ‘If there is anything I can do to help you?’ And he couldn't give me a response. He was just out of his mind,” said the student.

According to police, Collar had also just left BayFest, where they said he had taken LSD.

The student said Collar tried to force him out of the car.

“He reached through my window and tried to grab my lap belt and seat belt, and he wasn't real aggressive. I grabbed him and told him I wasn't getting out,” said the student.

After many failed attempts to calm Collar down, the student said he hit the gas.  

"He held onto my car, and I drug him for about 20 feet before he let go," said the student.

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The student said the last time he saw Collar was when he looked in his rearview mirror.

“Sprawled out in the middle of the road,” said the student.

Roughly 10 minutes later and only a few yards away, police said Collar charged Officer Trevis Austin several times at the police department.

According to officials, Austin made several attempts to calm Collar down before firing a shot that killed Collar.

Saturday evening, the student who said he met Collar just minutes before his death heard the news.

"I heard his name, and I remember when he first came up to my car he said, ‘My name is Gil,’ but I could call him God,” said the student.

The student said he wishes he could have done something.

"I felt guilty for the first couple of days because I felt like maybe there was something I could have done to prevent this from happening, but I wanted to get away from him. I didn't know what he was going to do,” said the student.

This student wasn’t the only one approached by Collar according to the sheriff’s office. They said he went up to another car and tried to bite a woman’s arm. They said he was making weird noises and statements toward the victim.

The confrontation between Collar and the police officer was caught on surveillance.

Collar's family attorney will view the video sometime Wednesday, and the media will be able to see it Thursday.

Tonight's Talker: Do you think the surveillance video of the confrontation should be released to the public? We’re told the video does not include the shooting.