By: Richard L. Smith
Two U.S. Army Reserve members, including one who also serves as a Philadelphia police officer, stopped a violent carjacking and rescued a woman who was being assaulted by an Atlantic County man in Waterford Township on Thursday morning.
According to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay and Waterford Township Police Chief Daniel Cormaney, the incident unfolded around 8:37 a.m. near Jackson Road and Waverly Avenue.
Police were initially called to the scene for a report of a single-car crash, where a vehicle had veered off the road and into a wooded area.
When officers arrived, they learned that the driver of the crashed vehicle, later identified as Rondean McDonald, 45, of Mays Landing, had assaulted a passing motorist.
McDonald allegedly forced open the locked passenger door of her car, demanded a ride to escape the area, and began strangling her when she refused.
Fortunately, two Army Reservists from Fort Dix witnessed the assault and quickly intervened.
One of the soldiers used a fire extinguisher to break a window and pull McDonald from the vehicle. Several additional Good Samaritans stopped to assist and called 911.
McDonald was restrained at the scene until police arrived. He was taken into custody and later charged with first-degree carjacking, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree aggravated assault, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
The victim, a 59-year-old woman from Lindenwold, was taken to Virtua Voorhees Hospital, where she is reported to be in stable condition.
McDonald was transported to Virtua Berlin Hospital and later remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a Superior Court detention hearing.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Kristen Blantz of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (856) 225-8642.