Reporter’s Notebook: I stopped for gas and witnessed an ICE arrest. Then, I spent days looking for the man who was detained

Sagar Vyas Takoma Park, Maryland —

I was on autopilot last Thursday when I pulled into a gas station in Takoma Park, Maryland, and annoyed with how the pit stop would add time to my commute to CNN’s office in Washington, DC.

But as I placed the pump in the gas tank, I noticed a man running full tilt toward me. I’d barely registered that he looked panicked – Maybe he was going to miss the bus? – when several things happened at once.

As he skidded to a halt in front of pump 1, a black Kia peeled into the station and pulled up level with him. Instantly, the passenger door opened and a man in khakis, a full-face balaclava and a tactical vest jumped out.

“Why were you running?” he asked repeatedly in Spanish. He continued to fire off questions, but I only heard the man he was chasing