An Ohio bus driver survived a violent attack Monday thanks to what some are calling divine intervention.
Forty-nine-year-old Rickey Wagoner was standing outside his bus in Dayton Monday when he was suddenly assaulted by three men. (Via WDTN)
But thanks to a certain book he kept in his shirt pocket, he's still alive to tell the tale.
"Police say Wagoner stopped to fix the RTA bus on Lakeview and Lakeside when three teens stabbed and shot him three times, two of the bullets hitting his chest and stopped by a Bible." (Via WHIO)
"I just looked at the chest, it just feels like i've been hit by a sledgehammer, I've got a book in my pocket, and I don't think they made it through this book." (Via WRGT)
According to the Dayton Daily News, Wagoner was attacked in what Dayton police believe was a gang initiation.
One officer told the paper if Wagoner didn't have the book in his pocket, those two bullets would have killed him. "There was obviously some kind of intervention involved in this incident because [Wagoner] should probably not be here."
Miraculously, Wagoner didn't suffer any life-threatening injuries during the attack, and he says he did everything he could to fight the suspects off. (Via WKEF)
The Springfield News-Sun reports Wagoner told police he stabbed one of his attackers in the leg with an aluminum pen during the struggle, and that scared all three off. He then reportedly used a gun that one of them had dropped to shoot after them as they ran.
The official motive is still under investigation, but police say they have evidence the attack could have been part of a gang initiation.
