Last year, the United States witnessed the third year of a crime wave that has raged since 2020, along with a series of deadly natural events that took a toll on lives and property. But amid robberies, violent physical attacks and other dangerous scenarios, brave Americans have stepped up and ended violent attacks or helped prevent further tragedies, some even losing their lives to protect a stranger in need.
Hollywood restaurant owner tackles suspect who punched elderly man
A restaurant owner in posh Hollywood earned the title of Good Samaritan in August when he accosted a burglar who allegedly beat up an elderly man.
Shocking video of the incident showed a homeless man beating an elderly man sitting at a restaurant table and stealing the man’s wallet and cellphone.
Tim Ratcliff, owner of the Shin restaurant in Hollywood, is seen on video chasing the suspect as he drives away from the scene, eventually accosting him at the intersection of La Brea and Hollywood.
HOLLYWOOD RESTAURANT OWNER BECOMES A GOOD SAMARITAN BY KNOCKING DOWN ROBBERY SUSPECT WHO BEATS ELDERLY MAN: REPORT
“I shot it down and waited there until the police came,” Ratcliff told Fox 11 at the time.
Ratcliff held the suspect for more than nine minutes until police responded.
“I wasn’t going to lie, the adrenaline was high at the time, and afterward it was exhausting. I felt like I had worked quite a bit the next day,” he said.
New York City Good Samaritan loses his own life saving a stranger on the subway tracks
In a tragic incident this year, a homeless man in the Bronx on New Year’s Eve 2022 died after he jumped onto subway tracks to try to rescue a complete stranger as a train approached the station.
NEW YORK CITY GOOD SAMARITAN DIES TRYING TO SAVE VICTIM OF ALLEGED GANG ASSAULT IN SUBWAY
Roland Hueston, 38, sprang into action after victim Noel Soto, 36, was knocked unconscious when suspected gang members threw him onto the tracks. Hueston was able to pull an unconscious Soto out of the direct path of an oncoming train, but he was unable to move out of the way before the subway car fatally struck him.
The suspects are wanted in connection with the subway attack.
(NYPD)
“He didn’t even know me,” Soto tearfully told the New York Post in an interview after the incident. “He gave his life to save mine.”
Police eventually arrested a handful of teen suspects in the case.
Attempted sexual assault on teenager thwarted by trio of Good Samaritans
A California grocery store was the site of a shocking attempted sexual assault on a teenage girl in September, but the attack was foiled when three men intervened.
“The screaming was just terrifying,” a witness at the Stater Bros grocery store in Whittier told Fox 11. “She was actually screaming and saying, ‘Help, help! I need help. My daughter is in the bathroom with a guy. ‘”.
GOOD SAMARITANS FRUIT THE ALLEGED NEAR-SEXUAL ASSAULT OF TEENAGER IN THE BATHROOM OF A CALIFORNIA GROCERY STORE
Suspect Steven Daniel Magdalen, 39, reportedly followed a 16-year-old girl into the grocery store bathroom, locked the door, pushed the girl and attempted to sexually assault her while she was on the floor, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
Store employees rushed open the bathroom doors, allowing three men to pin Magdalen to the floor until police arrived, according to Fox 11.
Good Samaritan reaches out to see a strange old man during a deadly hurricane
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season brought 14 named storms, including Category 4 Hurricane Ian in September, which marked Florida’s deadliest hurricane in nearly 100 years.
Ian alone killed nearly 150 people in Florida, but for an elderly woman who had lost her cell phone, saw her landline go down and an evacuation team missed her, a good Samaritan came to her rescue.
Las Vegas resident Christine Bomlitz, the daughter of 84-year-old Shirley Affolter, despaired as she went hours without hearing any updates from her mother and posted a plea on social media asking for someone to come see her. Affolter was unable to try to find safety beyond her own home as she relies on a walker to get around.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN BRACES HURRICANE IAN TO CHECK ON THE 84-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF A STRANGER
Her plea on social media was answered by Cheynne Prevatt, 26, who waded into the swollen waters to check on the old woman.
“I didn’t know who she was, but she was really surprised to see me,” Prevatt said of the initial contact with Affolter.
Affolter was found safe at home and was able to speak to her daughter briefly on the phone before her hearing aids stopped working. Prevatt was able to send Bomlitz a photo of her elderly mother smiling.
Shirley Affolter, 84, was found safe and dry at her home in Englewood, Florida, by Cheynne Prevatt on September 29, 2022.
(Cheynne Prevatt via AP)
“I’m grateful for this stranger,” Bomlitz said, “a complete stranger. The people are amazing.”
Four Good Samaritans subdue driver who assaulted policewoman
The Willoughby, Ohio police chief personally thanked four Good Samaritans in September for intervening when a man who was pulled over by police for speeding began attacking the officer.
“I am so proud of our community and the tremendous support we receive every day,” Willoughby Police Chief Jim Schultz wrote in a Facebook post. “Saturday was another great example. I really appreciate it! Thank you!”
OHIO’S GOOD SAMARITANS PRESS TO HELP A POLICE OFFICER IN A STRUGGLE ON THE ROAD: ‘YOU DON’T DO THAT TO A WOMAN’
Suspect David Koubeck, 64, was pulled over for going 57 in a 35 mph zone by Officer Stacee Wright, 30, in suburban Cleveland. Koubeck was seen on camera refusing Wright’s orders, including staying in her vehicle or sitting on the curb next to her car.
After the suspect refused multiple orders from Wright to put his hands behind his back or on the vehicle, a “physical struggle” ensued.
Four Good Samaritans then stepped in to defend Wright.
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“You don’t do that to a woman. Do you understand me?” a person is heard yelling at Koubeck.
The four people remained on the scene until backup officers arrived and arrested Koubeck.
Sarah Rumpf of the Associated Press and Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
