JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — "I was scared to death," said 63-year-old Bernita Swank.
What was supposed to be a routine, uneventful ride home from the doctor's office suddenly took a frightening turn for Swank and her 68-year-old husband Lloyd.
"He was just driving crazy," said Bernita.
She's talking about 37-year-old Bradley Jorden.
Swank said she and her husband were traveling in their minivan Wednesday afternoon near Highway 30 and Northwest Boulevard when Jorden was driving recklessly and cut them off.
"The car next to me was like a car length away from me and he (Jorden) slammed on his brakes and was gonna rear end that car and then he cut over in front of me. He flipped me off and I flipped him back and he went and put his Jeep in reverse and backed into my van," the Jefferson County woman said.
Bernita followed Jorden a couple of miles into the parking lot of a Steak 'N Shake near Highway 30 and New Sugar Creek Road to get his license plate number and call police.
"We were in the parking lot and I saw him get out of his Jeep and then he opened the passenger side door of our van and just kept punching and punching my husband. My husband was still in his seatbelt and didn't have a chance to defend himself. The guy had to hit him about 30 to 40 times. My husband kept telling me 'Call 911, call 911,'" she said.
A passer-by shot cell phone video of the attack.
"I was afraid he was gonna kill him and I ran over and was trying to help my husband and the guy threatened to hit me," Bernita said. "My husband had a heart attack back in 2014 and I just didn't want Lloyd to have another one."
Deputies arrested Jorden a few miles away at his home in High Ridge.
Lloyd Swank, a Vietnam War Veteran, suffered a skull fracture, a broken nose and a concussion.
He was released from the hospital late Thursday.
"He's in a lot of pain and he just doesn't feel like talking to anybody right now," Bernita Swank told 5 On Your Side.
"It does hurt to think that somebody could be so mean to another person. I'm relieved that they caught him," Swank's wife said with tears in her eyes.
"I think angels were there with Lloyd and I think my mom was protecting him, too," said Bernita Swank.
Meanwhile, Bradley Jorden is charged with second-degree assault, third-degree assault special victim and leaving the scene of an accident.
Jorden's locked up in the Jefferson County jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
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