Taxi driver foils sex attack in Fort Lee

ALPINE, N.J. (WABC) -- The young woman thought she was getting a ride home to the Bronx, but instead, the two men drove her over the George Washington Bridge to Fort Lee. If it hadn't been for a hero taxi driver, her ordeal could have been much worse.

A fiery car crash blocked the Palisades Parkway North in Alpine for several hours early Tuesday morning. The mangled wreckage of an unidentifiable car was all that remained. Police say a man crashed his car into a tree and died just minutes after he tried to sexually assault a woman in Fort Lee. The attack was stopped by a taxi driver, who drove up onto the scene around 3:00 a.m.

"Thank God he did something about it. It's scary at night. I won't work at night," taxi driver Joyce Broser said.

Police say the young woman met two men in New York City, and accepted what she thought would be a ride home to the Bronx. Instead, investigators say the men drove her over the GW Bridge into New Jersey. When they stopped the car in Fort Lee, the driver got out to assault her. His friend, who police say was drunk or high, stayed in the back seat. The sex attack was stopped by an unidentified taxi driver.

"Usually this town is very quiet and everyone is friendly here and tries to help everyone else," taxi driver Leo Araujo said.

Police say the taxi driver scared off the two men, who sped up the Palisades Parkway before crashing just south of exit 2 in Alpine. The suspect in the sex attack was killed and his passenger was ejected from the car. He was being treated at a local hospital.

We believe the young woman was not in the car at the time of the crash and was left behind in Fort lee. She was also taken to the hospital as a precaution.

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