California woman thanks Metro Detroit man who fought off man who brutally attacked her

Pair meet for first time since rescue

DETROIT – A woman jogging in San Francisco survived a brutal attack thanks to a man who stepped in and stopped the assault, ran after the attacker and kept him pinned until police arrived.

Sarah Tyack said she wants to thank the Metro Detroit man who saved her in person, so she came to Michigan. She wasn't allowed to contact the man who saved her during the investigation or the trial, but her friend had his email address, she said.

Jon Holliday rescued her, and returned to Michigan to care for his mother. A few weeks ago, Tyack rcontacted him and they met for the first time since the attack, on Tuesday at the Parc restaurant in Detroit.

Holliday was biking on the other side of a footbridge when he saw a man attacking Tyack.

"I was on a footbridge. He was screaming, 'You're on my territory,'" Tyack said of the attacker. "He threw me to the ground, pulled a bunch of my hair out," Tyack said.

"I saw him running and noticed he was chasing somebody," Holliday said.

Holliday said he chased the attacker off and followed him while on his bicycle. Before he knew it, he said, there were seven police cars at the scene. Pictures reveal how brutal the attack was.

"I thought this man was going to kill me. Don't know where he came from," Tyack said.

At the Parc restaurant, Holliday said, "I can't believe she came here to thank me."

"I wish more people were like him, you're lucky to have him living here," Tyack said.


About the Authors:

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.