DETROIT (WXYZ) — Twenty-seven-year-old Morgan Catton from Mount Clemens was making her way to a friend's house on Detroit's west side last week when she was accidentally dropped off at the wrong location by her Uber. She was attacked walking the remainder of the way by a man on a bike.
Catton Ubered from downtown Detroit to the area of Hazelwood Street and 14th Street to stay the night at a friend's house, so she wouldn't have to drive all the way back to her residence in Mount Clemens. Catton is familiar with Detroit and is a bartender at Tin Roof.
Around 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 13, her ride accidentally dropped her off a few blocks from her final destination. She decided to walk the rest of the way while on the phone with a friend.
She saw a man approaching her on the sidewalk on the bike, so she got out of the way so he could pass. He instead stopped right in front of her and attacked.
"When he got close to me, he had got off his bike, looked at me, grabbed me by the neck, threw me to the ground where he repeatedly punched me in the face," Catton said.
The 27-year-old was brutally attacked by a man that looked to be in his 40s, around 5-foot-8 and riding a dark blue or gray bicycle. He then took off on that same bike after the assault.
Detroit police say the incident was completely random.
“There were no words exchanged," Catton said. “It happened so quickly. There was no time to react."
The young woman was sent to the hospital, requiring multiple stitches around her mouth and eye. But she says she’s just happy to be alive.
“I thought I was going to die," she said.
The area where the attack happened is a thriving community near Gordon Park. Residents are shocked at the violence.
"It’s crazy because I have never seen nothing like that," Renee Stokes, who lives in the area, said.
Catton says she hopes women use the buddy system when walking alone at night and carry some sort of protection. She wants people to be aware that these attacks happen and spread awareness, so no one else is hurt.
“I have like a sick feeling in my stomach that if they don’t find him that he does something like this again," she said.
Detroit police are investigating. If you know anything about the assault, contact Detroit Police Department's 10th Precinct at 313-596-1000.
Catton is missing work due to her injuries and does not have health insurance. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help her with expenses.
