Good Samaritan describes finding Tempe carjacking victim fighting for his life

Man recalls finding Tempe carjacking victim

John Page describes trusting his gut feeling and finding a severely injured man outside a Tempe business park near Interstate 10 and Elliot Road. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean reports.

TEMPE, Ariz. - A man who called 911 after finding a victim of a violent carjacking in Tempe is sharing his account of the discovery.

Police say the suspect crossed state lines and could face charges for another ambush along Interstate 10 near the Arizona-New Mexico state line.

The backstory:

It's not clear how the victim and the suspect first came into contact, but the incident reportedly occurred in an industrial business park near Interstate 10 and Elliot Road, where the good Samaritan saw a huge pool of blood and the victim fighting for his life right outside a building.

John Page says his pre-work routine brought him to the parking lot outside his office just before 5 a.m. the previous Friday. When he pulled up, someone caught his eye.

"I noticed a gentleman was leaning against the tire of the truck over here. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. There’s a local homeless population and there’s guys sleeping around here, it’s pretty normal, so I kept going forward, but I got a weird gut feeling," said Page, who helped the alleged carjacking victim outside the Tempe business.

A Tempe worker stayed with a critically injured business owner until paramedics arrived. Police say suspect Samuel Goodrick stole the victim’s car and fled to New Mexico.

That gut feeling was enough to turn Page around and bring him face to face with the man.

"He by then was lying on the ground and holding his side and his face was completely like the size of a watermelon, and he was breathing, I asked him ‘Are you okay?’ Immediately I knew he wasn’t going to be able to answer me," Page said.

Page says he immediately called 911.

"And I just stayed there with him and was telling him, ’Hey you can hear them, they’re on their way man, hold on, hold on,’" Page said.

Dig deeper:

Page later found out the man was an owner of another company in the industrial park. Then, he saw reports of the arrest of Samuel Goodrick in New Mexico tied to a Tempe carjacking and realized this was a bigger story.

"I kinda put two and two together and was just like, I think this involved the same guy, I think this is the same situation and as the story unfolded I realized it was," Page said.

What they're saying:

Police say Goodrick stole the Tempe victim’s car, drove into New Mexico and jumped naked into the back of a family’s pickup truck along Interstate 10. Court documents indicate he was able to smash into the truck’s cab, but the family fought him off, leaving him on the side of the interstate where he was picked up by New Mexico State Police.

Court documents reveal a disturbing confession. They quote Goodrick telling a detective, "I just killed a dude. I smashed his f****** head into the ground. I can’t believe I f****** did that."

Goodrick made his initial appearance in front of a Maricopa County judge earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Page says he is glad he trusted his gut and was able to be there for a stranger in need.

"There’s no problem whatsoever to stop and take my time and try and help, even if it would’ve ended up as a situation where I didn’t end up calling 911, I still felt like it was a weird situation and I needed to help," Page said.

What's next:

Prosecutors told the judge during Goodrick’s initial appearance that the victim is not expected to survive his injuries. Goodrick is being held on attempted second-degree murder, theft and robbery charges. His bond is set at $1.5 million cash-only.

The Source: Information in this report was gathered from John Page, a man who helped the carjacking victim outside a Tempe business; police; New Mexico State Police; court documents; prosecutors; and past FOX 10 reporting.

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