Watch: Woman slapped on buttocks during run puts e-bike rider in chokehold
"I can defend myself," said the Virginia woman, who gave chase to the man arrested in the ride-by groping
A Virginia woman who says she was slapped on the buttocks by a passing electric-bike rider gave chase to the man and subdued him in a chokehold until police arrived.
The dramatic scene unfolded last Thursday afternoon as the woman, who has not been identified, was on a run in Arlington near Rolfe and 14th streets, according to NBC affiliate WRC-TV. That’s where she said a man riding an e-bike pulled up beside her and slapped her on the buttocks.
“He smacked me from behind, and I saw him smile, like he’s smiling, and he just took off and I tried to catch him,” she told the television station in an interview after the incident.
Determined to give chase to the man but knowing she wouldn’t be able to catch up to him on her own, the woman immediately sought the help of a nearby motorist to track down the drive-by groper. “I didn’t (think) about it,” she said. “I just wanted to catch him, especially when I saw him smiling and taking off on his electric bike … I couldn’t catch him, and then I found a guy in a car and I asked the guy if he could help me chase the guy, and he helped me.”
After pursuing the e-bike rider for nearly a mile, the woman and the motorist caught up to him at Wilson Boulevard and North Lynn Street in the neighbourhood of Rosslyn. “Once I saw him trying to cross the street, I just jumped on him,” she said.
Video obtained by WRC-TV shows the woman putting her trembling attacker in a chokehold and bringing him to his knees. She was able to subdue the man until police arrived.
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The rider of the e-bike, who has been identified as 25-year-old Edgar Estrada Espana of Arlington, was arrested for assault and battery. He was treated for minor injuries and released after being issued a summons.
The woman said that while she was shaken up by the incident, she’s determined to make an eventual return to running. “It’s scary, now,” she told WRC-TV. “I don’t feel, like, safe going out by myself, but eventually I’ll get back for my runs. I know I can defend myself, and hopefully that will never happen again to me or anyone else.”
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