A serial sex attacker who allegedly carjacked women to force them to have sex with him has been busted after one brave woman managed to jump out of her moving vehicle.

The suspect has been named only as Slovakian citizen Jaroslav Z., 49, due to strict local privacy laws, and he is alleged to have attacked at least three women in Lower Austria, Burgenland and Vienna, which are all regions in Austria.

The suspect was arrested after one of his would-be victims managed to evade him on Monday, 7th February.

The suspect, who reportedly has unspecified priors, allegedly ambushed an unnamed 38-year-old woman at Bruck an der Leitha train station, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the Austrian capital.

He allegedly pushed her through the open driver’s door into her car and threatened her with a knife. He reportedly demanded “money, money” and allegedly injured the victim’s hands with a gun before forcing her to drive to an ATM.

The area of Vienna they were heading towards was busy, and the suspect then allegedly changed his mind, directing the woman to take him to the municipality of Kittsee or to the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

He allegedly took the victim’s mobile phone from her and intimidated her. But after more than an hour of driving, the woman slowed down in an urban area and jumped out of the moving car.

The car crashed into another vehicle and the suspect fled. Passersby assisted the distressed victim and alerted the authorities. The suspect was arrested one hour later after a large-scale manhunt was launched by the police.

The police then discovered that the suspect had apparently followed a 23-year-old woman after she got off a train on 24th January before attempting to push her into her car. But the young woman locked the car from the inside and set off in a panic, effectively saving herself.

The suspect is then alleged to have threatened another woman at Huetteldorf train station in Vienna with a knife, demanding she open her car. But the victim screamed loudly and the suspect allegedly grasped the woman violently, causing her neck injuries, before letting go and fleeing.

The suspect reportedly tried to force some of his victims to have sex with him.

The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office reportedly believes there are other victims, and the authorities are urging further victims to come forward.