MODESTO, CA (KMAX/KDVR/CNN) - Bob Cole was getting ready to pick up his two young sons from school, when he was robbed at a bus stop in broad daylight.
"It doesn't surprise me. I know I would probably make a really easy target," Cole said. "I just kind of got nervous."
Cole is legally blind, but does have some sight.
His disability though is obvious, and moments before he was targeted by the thief, he was checking the time by holding the phone close to his eyes. That's the only way he can see it.
"All of a sudden, I felt a jerk and my phone was gone," Cole said.
A man riding his bike snatched the phone from right in front of Cole's face.
Cole wasn't going to let him get away that easy, so he started chasing the man.
"I just yelled 'hey stop come back here' and he continued on and I knew I couldn't keep up, so I just yelled at him 'God knows who you are and God sees who you are," Cole said.
Passersbys also saw who the man was.
Minutes later a woman approached Cole, who said she witnessed the entire thing, and went after the thief herself.
She was able to get Cole's phone back.
"For others out there who I don’t even know to take the time to do that. It makes me very thankful. That’s the way I want to be towards others and that’s the way I teach the boys as well," Cole said.
The good in this case, Cole says, outweighs the bad.
As for the man who tried to rip him off, he hopes he'll get some help as well.
"I don't harbor any resentment and I’m praying for this guy. I hope he turns his life around one day," Cole said.
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