PLANTATION, Fla. – Police continue to look for the man who sexually harrassed a 22-year-old woman on a Broward County Transit bus, then punched another man who tried defending her.
Ashley Ahringer was riding a Broward County Transit bus in Plantation on Sept. 17 when a man began sexually harassing her, police say.
After he used profane gestures and language, Ahringer moved away. When he continued, she threatened to call police.
"If the police are called, I asked a girl to go on a date with me and she said no and now she's being a b****," he told the bus driver.
Jimmie Singleton, another passenger, then told the man to stop. He responded by punching Singleton, 58, in the face.
Singleton then sprayed the man with mace. The man got off the bus and ran away.
"He is a hero to me because he stuck up for my daughter and he didn't even know her," said the woman's father, Scott Ahringer.
Singleton suffered a broken nose, three broken ribs, and a partially collapsed lung. He was in the hospital for eight days.
Photo credit: Ihosvani Rodriguez/Sun Sentinel
"He is a person who I understand is homeless, is frail and had a lot of other problems in his life and he put everything aside to come to the aid of a stranger in need," said Scott Ahringer. "I would love to thank the man myself and see what I can do to reach a hand to him in need."
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.