ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — John Budenas is currently recovering from two broken ribs, a broken ulna and radius, a shattered right hand, and could lose his left index finger.
The 79-year-old man was attacked by strangers while walking home from his job the night of Oct. 20. While strolling along 22nd Avenue in St. Petersburg, Budenas recalls what happened before regaining consciousness in a pool of his own blood.
"A car pulled over to the right-hand side of me," Budenas said. "And two people got out of the car, one walked off, and the other one walked to the back of the car. And he said, 'Do you know the area?' 'Well,' I said, 'I know what a little bit' and with that, he struck me."
The men drove off after beating Budenas with a tire iron. He said he waited on the ground for 15 minutes, waving a flashlight and trying to get a driver to stop. No one stopped.
"My legs weren't damaged so I was lucky enough to be able to get up, across 22nd, get to Wawa, called the police, called the ambulance," he said.
He walked more than a block to call 911.
With the extend of his injuries, Budenas is unable to work his janitorial job at Tropicana Field.
"You almost can't comprehend how you're gonna get caught up," he said. "But you will eventually."
Budenas lives in St. Petersburg, alone. He has no family nearby.
But, he's got Katie Pearson. Pearson is a bartender at Our Bar in St. Petersburg. Over the years, the two have become friends.
"It's just heartbreaking, because he's such a gentle soul," Pearson said while describing Budenas. "Then to see that he is suffering as an end result, not only from this attack but like the financial burdens that this has just plummeted in him into."
The pair find themselves chatting away multiple nights a week, at the bar where Pearson works. Pearson, who has no living grandparents, said Budenas fills that role in her life.
"He's a stubborn old man," she said with a smile. "And he's got a lot of will and strength. And it was just to see a loved one hurt."
To help Budenas get through a difficult few months of recovery, Pearson created a GoFundMe fundraiser for Budenas. The money will be used for Budenas to pay off medical bills, and cover other costs while unable to work.
"The best. It's the only way you can describe her," Budenas said of Pearson. "It's quite astonishing. It really is, you know, people that you just were friendly with come forward and make you feel really good about our relationship. Katie is number one, you know, she's really helped me and I'll be indebted to her for a long time."
To donate to Budenas' GoFundMe, click here.
While Budenas still has a long road of recovery ahead, he considers himself lucky to be alive. That is, in part, because just hours after he was attacked, the same men killed a bicyclist in Clearwater.
Two men, Savonne Morrison and Jermaine Adrian Bennett, have been arrested and charged for attacking Budenas and killing 49-year-old Jeffrey Chapman.
Morrison is being held without bond in the Pasco County Jail. Bennett is being held without bond in the Pinellas County Jail. Friday, a first-degree murder indictment was returned against Jermaine Bennett. Meanwhile, Morrison remains in the Pasco County Jail and eventually will be transferred to the Pinellas County Jail.