LOWER EAST SIDE — An apparent teenage attacker tried to sexually assault a woman in broad daylight as she jogged through East River Park just before noon Thursday, police said.
The victim, 41, was running through the park near the FDR Drive and Delancey Street about 11:47 a.m., when the attacker approached her from behind, threw her to the ground, and attempted to pull off her pants, the NYPD reported.
The victim screamed and fought the suspect, who then fled the scene on foot, leaving the woman with minor bruising, police said. She was later taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where she was in stable condition, cops added.
The attacker, who police described as apparently in his late teens, was wearing a gray hoodie and green pants, police said. Cops were still searching for the suspect as of Thursday afternoon.
Ground surveyors working in the park at the Delancey Street footbridge said the victim sought help from them shortly after the alleged attack.
"She came running up to us," recounted one the workers, who declined to give his name. "She looked like she had been exercising."
The park was less crowded than normal Thursday, visitors said.
"There is normally more people out — a mix of active people and a few who look dodgy," said Anshu, 36, a scientist and Kips Bay resident, who said she runs in the park every day and declined to provide her last name.
However, she added that the alleged attack is "not going to stop me from using the park."
