Diane D. Cox rescued Sandra Ruiz from assault, Newbury Park, California, August 12, 2007. At night, Ruiz, 33, was attacked by a man armed with a meat cleaver in the courtyard of her apartment complex. Cox, 52, administrative assistant, who also lived in the complex, was alerted to the attack. She ran to the scene, where she saw the assailant atop Ruiz, striking her. Shouting at him to stop, Cox jumped on the assailant, knocking him off Ruiz and to the ground. Although the assailant struck Cox on the face with the cleaver, inflicting a significant injury, she got on top of him and held down his weapon hand. Another resident of the complex arrived, disarmed the assailant, and helped Cox detain him for police, who responded shortly and arrested him. Ruiz required extensive hospitalization for treatment of severe injuries. Cox was also taken to the hospital, for treatment of blunt trauma to the side of her face, including a fracture and a laceration that required suturing.
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