15-year-old saves woman from stick beating in Connellsville Twp.

CONNELLSVILLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A 15-year-old hero came to the rescue of a woman who was under attack by a man with a stick, Channel 11's Kelly Brennan reported.

The Fayette County teenager and his father managed to tackle the suspect and get the woman to safety.

"I think people should always look out for one another," 15-year-old Ryan Younkin said. "I think that's how I want people to treat me, so that's how I treat someone else."

Ryan turned those words into action Wednesday night. He was fishing at his favorite spot along the Yough River in Connellsville Township. Behind him, a group of people were drinking beer and arguing about drugs. That's when, police say, Gary Steiger picked up a tree branch and started hitting a woman repeatedly in the head.

"I yelled at him to stop, and when he wouldn't stop, I tried to grab his foot and pull him off, but he was like clinging to her and wouldn't come off," Ryan recalled.

Ryan then distracted Steiger by running down a path.

"I just said come and get me," Ryan explained. "That's when he started chasing me."

Ryan's dad, a Pennsylvania state constable, jumped in to help. Albert Rocky Younkin held Steiger down in one part of the woods, while his son went back to help the injured woman.

"She was just begging for help, like a gasping cry," Ryan said.

Ryan then cradled the unconscious woman in his arms and carried her up a rocky path. That kept a violent situation from turning deadly.

"EMS said he did a heck of a job because it would've taken them a little longer," Constable Younkin said. "I mean, you don't hear that all the time. The only thing I can say is that's my son and I'm very proud of him for it."

Steiger is in the Fayette County Prison on a $15,000 bond.

As for Ryan, he'll start football practice next week.

WPXI