Police: SEPTA employee shot in Strawberry Mansion

STRAWBERRY MANSION (WTXF) - Philadelphia police say a SEPTA driver was shot as he walked to work in Strawberry Mansion.

"I'm hanging in there. Everything is sore but I'm hanging in," SEPTA bus driver Robert Wongus said.

From his bed at Temple University hospital, he spoke to FOX 29 Tuesday night over the phone, telling his terrifying encounter with a gunman on his way to work.

"Demanded everything I had. I seen a car coming down the street. I started to run towards the car and that's when he started shooting at me," he explained.

The 47-year-old Wongus, who usually drives to work, walked Tuesday morning to a bus stop around 4 a.m. because his car was in the repair shop. He was shot in the leg and left bleeding in the middle of Ridge Avenue when a driver pulled over to help.

"He was my angel. This morning he was my angel. Like I said God wasn't ready for me. The guy could have took my life at anytime," he said.

Police are now trying to determine if the shooting here in the 3100 block of Ridge was part of a pattern of gunpoint robberies in the area.Two other robberies have been reported here in the last two weeks.

Wongus, a 13-year SEPTA employee, says he's scheduled for surgery on Wednesday to repair a broken leg from the shooting. He had some special words of thanks for the Good Samaritan who came to his rescue.

"I would definitely pour my heart out to him because he didn't have to do that. He could have did like another driver who just kept on riding past me and left me there."

Police are reviewing surveillance video in the area. Extra patrols have also been added while they search for the gunman.