Tulsa Man Reportedly Beaten Unconscious With Lumber Thought He'd Die

A Tulsa man said an armed robber beat him unconscious with a piece of lumber in north Tulsa early Saturday morning.

"I thought I was going to die," Tom Bush told News On 6. "I thought, ‘this is my last day.'"

The attacker also stole Bush's wallet and his vehicle.

According to Tulsa Police Sgt. Bill Goree, Bush was loading his van to go on early-morning service calls when a man carrying a 2-by-4 walked up to him about 5:30 a.m. and asked for a cigarette.

"He walked up and said, ‘I just came to say hi,'" Goree said, referencing the police report.

Then the man attacked him, Bush said.

"…Walked out the door and shut the doors to the van and put the last load in, and [I] got blindsided by a 2-by-4 to the head," Bush said. "He continued to [beat] me until I was unconscious and stole the keys, my wallet and off he went."

Bush said he feared for his life as the man began pummeling away.

"I refused to pass out after being hit five times with a 2-by-4," he said. "He was saying ‘pass out' and he showed me the gun in his [waistband] and that was it. Hit me one more time and I was out…

"When he showed me his gun I had no more fight."

Goree said Bush was treated and released by EMSA at the scene. A bruise and welt were visible near his left eye while he talked with News On 6 later in the morning.

Bush opted not to go to the hospital and went back to work a little later.

The assailant took off in Bush's service van, a 2003 white Dodge Caravan with a ladder rack. Bush described him as a black man of medium build, between 28-30 years old and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Bush said police told him they have an idea of his attacker's identity and showed him a photo of a man who reportedly lives in an apartment complex near where the beating occurred at Apache Street and Utica Avenue.

When he saw the photo, Bush said the first thing that came to mind was "that I'm gonna go over there and shoot him," he said.

Bush agreed he was exaggerating but said something has to be done to curtail the crime in the area.

"I'm thankful to be alive," Bush said. "But [police] need to get these people off the street."

7/20/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Woman Taken Hostage, Forced To Drive To ATM, Police Say

About a mile away, at Apache and Harvard Avenue, a Kum & Go clerk called 911 at 5:50 a.m. after a woman said she was taken hostage from her home was forced to drive to the store's ATM by three men.

A security guard scared the men off, who sped away and have not been found, police said.

A description of their vehicle has not been provided by police, and TPD said it is unknown if the two incidents are related.

Anyone with information about either crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.