A female British student was reportedly attacked and dragged into bushes by a man as she waited at a bus stop near a tourist hotspot in Rome, Italy. She reportedly suffered bruising to her face, which was also swollen as a result of the attack.
The -21-year-old was found “staggering in the street” by a taxi driver near Villa Borghese gardens following the attempted rape on Monday evening (February 23).
The young woman was allegedly pulled behind a bush during the horror ordeal but her attacker fled when she screamed out for help, reports Italian media.
Speaking to Il Messaggero, taxi driver Fabio Moccia came to the aid of the woman after noticing her face was swollen and she was in tears.
(Image: Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse/Shutterstock)
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He said: “She was staggering down the street. She was crying, her face was swollen. I shone my headlights on her. There was no one behind her.
“I stopped immediately and turned the car toward her, shining my headlights around. I didn’t see anyone else.
“She was crying, in despair. I got out and tried to calm her down. She had two bruises on the right side of her face.”
Moccia said the woman told him that she had been struck by a man in hope it would have ‘knocked her out’ before being dragged behind some bushes.
He added: “She was very scared, also because her cell phone had run out of battery and she didn’t know how to call for help. So she started walking toward Via Veneto.
“At first I realized that she had been attacked, then that someone had tried to unbutton her pants.”
The driver called for an ambulance and waited with the women until they had arrived.
Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police) officers took her clothes for DNA analysis while investigators combed the scene for clues, according to the Mirror.
Police are also checking CCTV footage in the area in hope of being able to identify the man as they hunt for the attacker.
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