‘Guardian angel’ gets recognition

As many as 10 people were nearby when a Colorado Springs man was attacked after a New Year's Eve party downtown - stabbed without warning by a man he didn't know.

Only one person did something about it.

Jonathan H. Johnson, 35, was walking to his car as Michael Strauch was attacked on Tejon Street in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2007. Johnson pushed the assailant from the bleeding man, knocked his attacker unconscious, then carried Strauch out of the street and put pressure on his wounds, all while other revelers stood watching.

Johnson was awarded a Carnegie Hero Medal this week for his selflessness, a national award bestowed only on those who risk their lives to save others. He was among 22 people recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, established by industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1904.

The award comes with a $6,000 prize.

Friday, Johnson said he would have been content with a simple "thank you." Strauch, 25, thought more recognition was in order for the man he says saved his life.

"He's my guardian angel," said Strauch, who along with his mother nominated Johnson for the award. Johnson also received a Citizen of Distinction Award from the Colorado Springs Police Department in September.

Strauch said he and his then-girlfriend were leaving what was then Eden nightclub on Pikes Peak Avenue about 1 a.m. when they passed a man ranting and shouting obscenities near the intersection with Tejon.

Strauch noticed a knife in his hand and grew worried when the assailant - later identified as Nathan S. Dickerman, 27 - began approaching the couple.

He told the stranger to get away, then turned around and started walking again.

Without saying a word, Strauch said, Dickerman stabbed him in the back. Strauch spun around to meet his attacker and was stabbed in the chest, puncturing his lung.

Johnson, at his car parked nearby, saw blood coursing down the back of Strauch's white dress shirt and grabbed Dickerman just as the assailant landed his second blow. Dickerman attacked Johnson, backing him against a wall and slashing and lunging with the knife.

Johnson suffered a cut to his left arm and banged his head against the wall while dodging the knife. He managed to end Dickerman's charge by kicking him in the abdomen and then punching him, knocking the 3½-inch blade knife out of his hand.

"I don't know if it was an adrenaline punch or what, but it was the hardest I've ever hit anything in my life," he said. "It knocked him out cold, right there."

It wasn't until police arrived and arrested Dickerman that Johnson realized he'd been cut. Dickerman pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on the anniversary of the attack and was given a 12-year prison sentence. He had been charged with attempted murder.

Strauch and Johnson woke up in the same room at Memorial Hospital the morning after the attack. Johnson, who had never met Strauch, remembers looking up at two strangers - Strauch's parents, Manny and Carolyn Strauch.

"His mom gives me this huge hug and I said, ‘I'm sorry, I don't know who you are,'" Johnson said.

Receiving the Carnegie medal was gratifying, Johnson said, but he doesn't plan to pocket the money. Instead, he'll use it to help a friend set up the Fifth Annual Oil Can Open, a charity golf tournament set for May 19 at Flying Horse Golf Course in Colorado Springs.

Whatever's left will be split between the two charities benefiting from the fundraiser. Tri-Lakes Cares serves needy families in Colorado Springs and the Kayla Weber Believe Foundation helps families affected by cancer.

More than a year later, Strauch has mostly recovered from the attack, though he still feels a pain in his lung on cold days. More than that, though, the experience left him with a "changed attitude on life," he said.

"I'm definitely taking more chances," he said. "Life is short - you never know when it's going to end. I thought mine was going to end in that ambulance."

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com