"I'm lucky to be alive," 77-year-old Herb Freeborn told WPVI-TV in the wake of a brutal, unprovoked attack he suffered just after noon Wednesday in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, while he was riding his e-bike.
Ridley Township is just under 30 minutes southwest of Philadelphia.
'I ain't used to people helping me like that, you know.'
Freeborn told the station he was waiting to cross Chester Pike in the Crum Lynne section when a male approached him from behind and began punching him.
Surveillance video shows the suspect crossing through traffic and heading toward the victim before the attack, WPVI said.
"This guy came up behind me, started punching me and punching me," Freeborn recalled to the station.
WPVI asked him if the suspect said anything during the attack, but Freeborn said, "No, didn't say nothing, just came up to me and started hitting me."
The station said Freeborn suffered injuries to his eye and face.
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Surveillance video shows Freeborn managing to run from the attacker, WPVI reported.
At that point, one might expect the suspect to make off with the victim's e-bike — but he didn't.
The station said the suspect actually threw Freeborn's e-bike and walked away.
Surveillance video also captured a bystander — Danny Doyle — stepping in to help, WPVI noted.
Doyle told the station he saw the incident and went to assist Freeborn, grabbing the victim's e-bike and checking on his condition.
"At first I thought he was stealing his bike; that's why I went and grabbed it for him," Doyle recalled to WPVI.
Freeborn told the station that Doyle's actions meant a lot to him: "I want to thank him very, very much. I appreciate everything he done for me."
The elderly man then added a gut-wrenching admission WPVI: "I ain't used to people helping me like that, you know."
Ridley Township police released surveillance photos of the suspect and announced just before 4 p.m. Wednesday that he had been taken into custody.
Police on Friday didn’t immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for more information about the arrested suspect.
"If he did it to me, why wouldn't he do it to somebody else?" Freeborn asked the station.
Commenters under the police department's Facebook post about the incident didn't hold back:
- "Typical coward. Prey on the elderly. Not surprised," one user stated.
- "Piece of s**t," another commenter declared. "I hope they find out what he did when he goes to jail, and those boys stomp him out for it."
- "Like why WTF," another user wrote.
- "Always carry ... end them," another commenter suggested.
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