Isam Araboghli rescued Linda G. Desilets from assault, Bridgeport, Connecticut, August 29, 1994. Ms. Desilets, 42, had just left a bank when a 16-year-old boy approached her and, after a struggle, stole her purse. With Ms. Desilets in pursuit, the assailant ran to a nearby car, which contained three other teenage boys, and entered as the car began to leave the bank’s parking lot. Ms. Desilets grabbed one of the car’s doors, which was open, but the door was then closed on her hand, catching it. She was taken to her knees and dragged into the street by the car. A customer in the bank, Araboghli, 37, self employed, was alerted to the situation. He ran from the bank and caught up to the car. Araboghli reached through the window of the driver’s door in an attempt to turn the car’s ignition off, but the car, which had been stolen, was being operated without a key. He then grasped the gearshift lever and placed the car in park. While he did so, he was stabbed in his left forearm and punched in the face. When the car stopped, Ms. Desilets was freed and Araboghli withdrew from it. The boys fled in the car but were shortly apprehended by police. Both Araboghli and Ms. Desilets required hospital treatment, Ms. Desilets sustaining injuries to her hand and knees, and Araboghli sustaining puncture wounds to his arm and a mouth injury.
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