Female New York Runners on Edge as Woman Is Attacked and Raped While Jogging

Joggers in New York are on edge after a woman on her early morning run was raped and left bleeding and in pain as some passersby continued on their way without stopping to help. She could have lost her life if it hadn’t been for one good Samaritan.

Gabrielle Sumkin was also out for a run in the West Village Thursday when she spotted the woman lying on the ground near New York City’s popular Pier 45 near West and Christopher streets.

“I saw a woman bleeding, no shoes, in distress,” she said.

Sumkin rushed to her aid.

“She was saying ‘I need help,’ over and over again. A bunch of people walked by... the worst (were) people who looked in her direction and didn’t do anything.”

Sumkin, 23, called 911 and stayed with the woman until help arrived. The ordeal was at the forefront of her mind when she went for a run Friday.

“I'm just being more careful but I was also terrified and thought anyone who saw me was out to get me,” she said.

Female runners, prepping for this weekend's New York City Marathon, are especially concerned.

“It’s really scary,” one woman said.

“I think it’s awful,” another said. 

“A lot of my runs are at 5 a.m. or when it gets dark,” a runner said. 

The attack on the female jogger is reminding many of heiress Eliza Fletcher, a mom of two abducted and murdered in September during an early morning run in Memphis. 

University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts was also murdered during a jog. Wendy Martinez was stabbed to death on her run in Washington, D.C. 

Carl Phanor, 28, was arrested in connection to the rape of the woman attacked in New York Thursday. He was also wanted in connection with two other recent sexual assaults, police said. He allegedly attacked a female jogger in March and fled on a bike, which is what the suspect in Thursday’s attack did as well, police said. 

And last month Phanor allegedly attempted to sexually assault a woman after stealing her credit card, according to police. 

Phanor has been arrested at least 18 times as an adult, police said. He also has a criminal record in New Jersey and Ohio, authorities said. He is homeless and has several aliases, prosecutors said.  

The woman attacked Thursday reportedly remained in intensive care Friday with lung fractures.

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