Good Samaritan attacked with tire iron after stopping to help elderly woman

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A man who stopped to help what appeared to be a disabled motorist on the side of the road ended up being attacked, according to authorities in Burke County.

In a press release, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Tyler Boone was driving on Interstate 40 near Valdese around 6:30 p.m. Sunday when he noticed a white van parked on the shoulder of the interstate.

He pulled over and walked up to a woman who looked to be in her 70s, asking if he could help her.

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Boone said the woman told him she was having issues with a tire. He told deputies he took a look but said there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the van’s tires, and that’s when two men came out of nowhere and started to assault him, demanding Boone give them everything he had.

One of the men used a tire iron as a weapon during the attack, deputies said.

Boone told authorities he was able to defend himself and thought he might have broken one of the men’s arms before being able to run back to his car and get away. He was able to get the first four characters on the woman’s license plate, which were TAZ3.

The good Samaritan described one of the men as having no teeth, short hair, blue jeans and wearing a Nike hooded sweatshirt. The man also had a tattoo of a skull with an ace of spades for eyes.

The second man was described as having lots of tattoos, pierced ears, wearing blue jeans and he appeared to be in his 20s.

Deputies said Boone was hurt during the encounter but that his injuries were not serious.

Billy Hamby said he owns a garage nearby and he doesn’t hesitate to stop and help others when they are having issues with their cars.

“Every time I see a stranded motorist on the highway, I will stop and assist them,” Hamby said. “Especially an elderly person. I will get them off that freeway and get them to safety.”

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with several drivers in the area Monday about what happened and they said the incident won’t keep them from helping others.

“I think that’s terrible anybody would stoop that low, but I probably would still stop,” driver Michael Poteat said. “You know a woman needing help, she needs help.”

Anyone with information about this case should call the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at 828-438-5500 or Morganton/Burke Crimestoppers at 828-437-3333.