Charlene Roberts still can’t believe how close she came to losing her 18-month-old son, Abel, in a bizarre roadside attack by a man police said was high on drugs.
Early Monday morning on a stretch of the 215 Freeway in Menifee, Roberts and her son, along with three other adult family members and friends got a flat tire just south of Newport Road.
"As soon as we got the tire off you see this big guy come over the median swinging a pole and laughing," Roberts said.
Nicolas Lopez Garcia, 44, allegedly started breaking car windows while using a broken highway paddle marker to stab at Abel, who was in a back car seat.
"I was on Abel like this, just trying to protect him," Roberts said.
But she said Garcia kept stabbing.
"I was looking at him face-to-face saying ‘Please stop, he's a baby’ and he's laughing at me the whole time," she said.
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The others in the car also tried to fend off the attack, said they were no match for the 6-foot-tall, 200-pound Garcia.
"We all approached this man and realized he was of no sane mind at all," said James St. Claire, Roberts’ brother.
St. Claire, who is still recovering from a previous unrelated injury, along with Abel’s dad and another friend, all tried to subdue their attacker, but they couldn’t so they quickly drove off, riding only on three wheels.
"We bounced off the side of the road and spun out 360 degrees," St. Claire said.
As they made their getaway, CHP officers say Garcia set fire to the victims’ possessions, which were lying on the shoulder. The officers said Garcia did not respond to their advances, and they had to use a stun gun to subdue him.
The family was in the process of moving from San Diego County to San Bernardino County at the time of the attack, so quite a few of their belongings were in the car and destroyed by Garcia.
Abel suffered several lacerations and needed six stitches on his neck. Charlene and the others also suffered stab wounds from the jagged edge of the roadway marker all over their bodies.
In court Wednesday, Garcia pleaded not guilty to several felony counts including attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.
His bail has been set at $2 million dollars.
"I'm just thankful my baby made it through and everyone is OK," Roberts said.
