SEQUIM, Wash. — A DoorDash driver who tried to help a stranded family of nine-- but was stabbed in the neck for his efforts-- has finally been released from the hospital.
Over the weekend, 60-year-old Melvin Swagerty was driving on Highway 101 in Port Angeles when he saw a family with two adults and their seven children walking on the side of the road, CCSO said in a release.
Authorities say Swagerty offered to give the family a ride and they got in his 1999 Lexus SUV and headed east on 101.
Around 8:10 p.m., deputies with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an assault on Carlsborg Road in Sequim.
They found Swagerty at the scene, who had been stabbed in the neck and was unable to speak.
He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
“My dad was just trying to be kind and a good Samaritan,” said Christina Brown, the victim’s daughter.
The two adults, identified as 30-year-old Nicholas Well and 29-year-old Rosario Lopez, allegedly stabbed Swaggerty and pushed him out of the car before driving off with the children, according to the sheriff’s office.
A few hours after Swagerty picked them up and was stabbed, deputies with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office found his vehicle in the middle of a county road with the lights off.
Well was in the front seat and Lopez was in the passenger seat with the children in the back. Both were passed out.
Deputies could see a significant amount of blood inside the driver’s seat area and they recovered a bloody knife from Well’s pocket, according to the Clallam sheriff.
Their children, aged between 6 months and 9 years, were also in the vehicle, some without proper clothing or car seats.
In court, Rosario Lopez Castro appeared distraught as the judge issued no-contact orders for all seven of her children.
Bail was set at $100,000 for Rosario Lopez Castro and $500,000 for Nicholas Well, who may also face charges of attempted murder in Clallam County.
As of Oct. 23, Swagerty was released from Harborview Medical Center. It’s unclear what kind of recovery he has ahead.
Brown expressed concern for her father’s recovery, noting that he has lost much due to the attack and hopes for community support.
The family has set up a GoFundMe.
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