A suspect has been hospitalized in Utah after a 69-year-old woman punched him in the head several times when he forced himself into her car.
Frances Mach arrived at her daughter’s Saratoga Springs home Saturday night about 9:30 p.m. when she said a man jumped into her car and told her to drive, a local CBS affiliate reported.
“He says ’take me out of here … go!’” Ms. Mach said. “He started to reach for the steering wheel and he smacked me with the other hand and said ’go!’”
That’s when she decided to fight back.
“I just balled up my fist and I nailed his head about three or four times and told him to get out of my car,” she told CBS. “He couldn’t believe it, I’ll tell you what, because I fought back. He looked about half-scared.”
Ms. Mach said the man got out of the vehicle and ran inside the home. She called the police, who arrived to see flames coming from an upstairs window.
“We were able to clear the downstairs but each time we entered in the upstairs, the smoke was so strong the officers were unable to go completely into the house,” said Saratoga Springs Police Sgt. Grant Ferre.
Christopher Bigler, 38, was eventually apprehended and flown to an area hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation, CBS reported.
He was listed in fair condition Sunday afternoon, and will be transported to jail when he is released, the station reported.
“They told me his face was already starting to swell, so I must have landed him pretty good,” Ms. Mach said.
Her daughter’s house was significantly damaged from the fire and the family was not allowed back in as of Sunday, CBS reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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