A man who happened to be driving on a New Jersey highway when a suspect was allegedly attempting to sexual assault on a woman is crediting God for putting him in the right place at the right time.
John Bishop was driving on northbound on I-295 and merged onto the off ramp for Route 73 Thursday afternoon when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a man forcefully grabbing a woman who was walking on the side of the road, KYW-TV reported.
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The man then dragged the woman into the woods and down a hill, Bishop said.
The good Samaritan knew he had to intervene, parking his car on the shoulder of the busy highway despite the blaring horns coming from frustrated vehicles.
That’s when he heard the woman scream and the suspect, identified by New Jersey State Police as 52-year-old Philadelphia resident Donald Cramer, on top of her.
“I yelled, ‘Hey, hey get off of her,” Bishop said. “And so he stood up. He came right at me and he grabbed me by my arms.”
The two then engaged in a physical altercation. Bishop said he grabbed Cramer’s hair and slammed him forward on the ground. When Cramer allegedly came at him again, Bishop was able to maneuver him into the view of passing cars by throwing him over the guardrail.
Bishop then got on top of him, and three off-duty firefighters who spotted them pulled over and helped hold him until police arrive.
It’s not a route that Bishop usually takes, but he believes a higher power brought him there for a reason.
“The big man put me there for a reason,” Bishop said.
Police praised Bishop for saving the woman from an attempted sexual assault.
“As troopers, we respond to a variety of calls everyday, and there are times when we must place our lives in jeopardy,” state police posted to Facebook. “Citizens are not necessarily held to this standard, but there are also times when good samaritans step in and risk their lives in order to protect others.”
Cramer was arrested and charged with kidnapping, criminal attempted sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, terrorist threats, criminal restraint, and resisting arrest. He was lodged at Burlington County Jail pending a detention hearing.
The woman was taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police said. She had gotten off at the wrong bus stop and was walking toward her car when she was attacked, WPVI reported.