Vallejo mom hailed as hero after knife attack

(KRON) — A North Bay good Samaritan stepped in to save a man’s life during a knife attack in Vallejo.

Amanda Williams had just dropped off her 4-year-old son at daycare on the morning of August 11. While driving away from the daycare to start her shift as a DoorDash driver, she saw two men in a violent altercation on Miller Avenue.

The mother jumped into action to stop the knife attack and save the stabbing victim, she told KRON4 Wednesday.

“The assailant was stabbing the victim in the head. There was blood everywhere and the poor victim was trying to defend himself while crying and screaming for help. I threatened to call the police and began dialing 911. For a moment, he stopped, looked at me, and yelled for me to leave. The next moment, he turned to stab the victim in the face,” the mother wrote.

Without thinking about possible consequences to her own safety, Williams followed her instincts. She told KRON4, “I just knew that I had to do what I could to stop it.”

She wrestled for control of the knives with the assailant. “I twisted the knives away from his palm and ran,” Williams said.

Police identified the knife-wielding assailant as Henry Johnson. He allegedly fled from the area by stealing Williams’ car. The good Samaritan had left her door open and the car running. Johnson crashed the stolen car a short time later and he was arrested by police.

Williams said her car was heavily damaged and is now undriveable. Without her car, the single mom can’t work and is facing financial hardships. “Now I don’t have a vehicle for DoorDash,” Williams told KRON4.

She set up a verified GoFundMe page to raise donations.

Neighbors say Williams’ actions on August 11 were heroic. The victim who was stabbed during the fight is expected to survive.

“She’s amazing. She saved a life,” a neighbor told KRON4.

Inmate records show Johnson is 6-feet-tall and weighs over 200 pounds. He was booked into a Solano County jail for assault with a deadly weapon, vehicle theft, and evading law enforcement. Johnson, 43, is being held in custody without bail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.