Victoria construction workers stop random assault on woman

A Victoria police vehicle is pictured in this undated photo. (Victoria Police Department/Facebook)

Victoria -

Two construction workers are being credited with helping stop a random assault on a driver on Tuesday afternoon.

Victoria police say the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. when a woman was driving southbound near the intersection of Cook Street and Johnson Street.

A man was reportedly standing in the middle of the intersection. The woman tried to slowly drive around the man, however, he continued to step in front of her vehicle, according to police.

When the woman rolled down her window to ask the man to move, he suddenly reached through the window and punched her several times, police say.

"Thankfully, nearby construction workers came to the woman’s aid and pulled the suspect away from the vehicle, despite his resistance," said VicPD in a release Wednesday.

"The construction workers held on to the suspect until police arrived."

VicPD officers rushed to the scene and arrested the man without further incident. The 42-year-old Victoria man now faces recommended charges of assault and mischief.

Police say that the man has been convicted of 15 previous assaults, "many of which are random and unprovoked."

The woman was not seriously injured in the encounter and did require medical attention at the time, according to VicPD.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.