Sexual assault victim meets good Samaritan who saved her

How many of us would have done what John Bishop did on June 6, 2019? How many of us would have seen a woman being dragged into the woods by a man alongside the highway and would have done more than just call 911?

He immediately pulled over and ran into harm’s way to stop what was happening. Not knowing if Donald Cramer Jr. had a weapon on him, he grabbed him away from the woman who police said he was attempting to sexually assault.

Bishop pinned his arm behind his back and dragged Cramer up the hillside and tossed him to the ground. Then held him there until police arrived.

The victim deserves credit, too. She didn’t shy away from cooperating with authorities to prevent this attacker from hurting more women. Cramer was sentenced to 18 years in jail after pleading guilty in September to attempted aggravated sexual assault.

It wasn’t until after sentencing that Bishop had a chance to really meet the woman he rescued. Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said that “it was a privilege to see this emotional meeting between this brave survivor and the gentleman who put himself in harm’s way to rescue her from this awful attack.

"By intervening to help a stranger without regard for his own safety," Mr. Bishop reflects, "as Abraham Lincoln once said, the better angels of our nature. And I cannot say enough about our survivor, who bravely fought her attacker during the crime, and was determined to see that justice was done in this case, and to make certain that this defendant could not harm anyone else.”

I’m sure John Bishop would say he’s not a hero. All heroes do. It’s the kind of thing we never know for certain until it actually happens but I’d like to think I would have done the same if called upon. I’d like to think we all would.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.