“First, he thought it was just a friend that you know pulled up behind him and it was just giving him a bear hug, just trying to play a prank on him, and then he heard the guy say, ‘you’re dead, you’re dead, you’re dead’ and started slicing him,” said Yuriy’s son.
He says his father was cut multiple times in the neck and head. Yuriy tried fighting back — but was losing a lot of blood.
Witnesses at the IHOP called 911. When police showed up, the attacker took off in Yuriy’s SUV.
Yuriy’s son was asked if they had any idea what may have provoked this.
“Nobody knows,” he answered.
Officers quickly tracked down and arrested the suspect near Costco in Lynnwood.
After a few days in the hospital, Yuriy is still recovering.
His son credits the police with saving his dad’s life, adding, “The first one on scene was the one that stayed with my dad and he was the one that saved his life, stopped the bleeding, and he was there at the hospital when I showed up and I got to shake his hand and say thank you.”
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