A Staten Island man is being hailed as a hero for chasing off a would-be abductor who tried to drag a young girl into the woods, cops and witnesses said.
Patrick Klatt was sitting inside his Great Kills house the other night when he was moved to action by the screams of a 15-year-old girl coming from the woods across the street. While her attempted kidnapper kept hushing her, the girl screamed just loud enough for Klatt, 51, to hear, according to a published report.
Without a second thought, Klatt grabbed a baseball bat and raced out his door. The man who dragged the girl into the woods saw him coming from across the street and fled.
"I ran in the woods as he was running out," Klatt told the Daily News.
Instead of pursuing the assailant, Klatt stopped to attend to the girl. He said she was shaking and crying and told him the man had put his hands around her throat -- that she was hurt and could barely speak.
"As long as you're with me, nobody's going to hurt you," Klatt told the News he promised the frightened girl.
The hero homeowner led the girl back to his home and asked his brother to call 911. The girl, whose identity hasn't been released because she's the victim of an attempted sexual assault, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Her family said the assault was terrifying for the teen, but thanked Klatt for saving her.
