A quiet Friday morning walk turned into a nightmare for a Texas nanny when a stranger armed with a baseball bat attacked her without warning — and her first instinct was to protect the 2-year-old in her care, not herself.
The Attack
The assault happened around 10 a.m. last Friday on Fluor Daniel Drive in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston, according to local police. The woman, whose name has not been released, was pushing a toddler in a stroller when a man driving an SUV against traffic pulled up and asked her for directions.
That’s when she spotted something alarming inside his vehicle — a baseball bat.
Within moments, the man got out of the car and began swinging.
“She Fought Back”
According to her husband, Dannel Caban, the woman tried to run but was struck on the back of the head. As the attack escalated, she made a split-second decision: shield the child first.
When she attempted to call 911, the attacker reportedly smashed her phone. But the assault didn’t stop there.
“He just was swinging and swinging,” the woman recalled. “I just was yelling, ‘Stop, stop. I don’t know you.'”
A Shattered Arm — And a Mother’s Instinct
In a desperate attempt to protect her head from another blow, the woman raised her arm — and the impact shattered both bones in her forearm.
Even injured and bleeding, she managed to push the toddler out of the attacker’s reach. Remarkably, the child was not hurt.
The attacker only fled after the woman began screaming loudly enough to draw attention.
“I Thought That Was the End of Her Life”
A passerby eventually found the woman bloodied and in shock and called for help. When her husband arrived at the scene, what he saw left him shaken.
“I saw her completely full of blood, with the arm literally hanging,” Caban said. “I thought that was the end of her life.”
Doctors expect the woman to remain hospitalized for several days, with a recovery time of five to six months.
Suspect Still at Large
Police describe the attacker as a man in his 30s or 40s, tall with a heavier build, who fled in an older-model SUV. No motive has been identified, and investigators are now reviewing nearby surveillance footage for clues.
A Mother’s Strength
Despite her injuries, the woman says she’s grateful she was able to keep the child safe.
“God gave me the strength to fight back,” she said. “All I could think of was my kids, my grandbabies, my husband, my family.”
