A Cleveland woman, who said she was assaulted at random outside her Ohio City home, is issuing a warning for other women on the west side.
Haley Ann Tussey said she was walking home from a gas station on Lorain Ave. around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 28 when a man in a ski mask grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
It happened on Bridge Ave. near W. 52nd Street, she said. Tussey said her broken down car forced her to make the walk. She noticed the man following her, so she turned around, made eye contact, started screaming and reached for her pepper spray.
“I thought I was going to die. I knew exactly what was happening,” Tussey said. “He just drops his hand from the back of my head and punched me in the side of my face and kind of grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me to the ground.”
The man got away as Tussey called 911. She said he was a white male, short, only about 5’ 6” and stocky, with his face completely covered wearing a brown leather coat lined with wool.
Adding insult to injury, Tussey said, was the fact that police never followed up with her in order to try and solve the case.
“Women who are parking their cars going into their houses are at risk,” she warned.
A Cleveland spokesperson told News 5 that lack of response was purposeful, saying they do not typically follow up on cases of “simple assault,” unless it’s a felony. They recommended Tussey instead contact the prosecutor.
“Which is really hurtful and actually really scary,” she said. “I was attacked by somebody in a ski mask out of nowhere."
