Good Samaritans rescue Ill. woman who was beaten with hammer, lit aflame

CHICAGO -- Two Good Samaritans are being credited with saving a Joliet, Illinois woman’s life Saturday afternoon after she was allegedly burned and beaten by her fiancé’s brother, CBS Chicago reports.

Neighbors said they thought it was a run-of-the-mill house fire when they saw smoke billowing from the Joliet home. 

Witnesses began recording the fire on their phones, and could be heard commenting how close it was to their own homes. But one neighbor, Ryan Flannery, said he saw a woman covered in blood and slumped over on the driveway.

“She just started screaming ‘he tried to kill me’ and she was covered in blood,” Flannery told CBS Chicago.

Flannery said the victim alleged her fiancé’s brother beat her with a hammer, poured gasoline on her, and set her on fire.

Police arrested 36-year-old Timothy Gregory, of Shorewood, and charged him with aggravated battery and aggravated arson.

A teenager who also stopped to help called 911 as Flannery sat with the victim.

The victim was in a medically induced coma at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center Sunday night.

A judge set Gregory’s bail at $2 million on Monday.