Hero of Eggleston Road: Rockford man shares chilling account of fight with alleged killer
A wound closed by 10 staples to the back of Keith Fahrney's head has healed, but his fight with a man accused of brutally killing four people in his southeast Rockford neighborhood is still fresh.
It was just over a month ago when Fahrney, a 51-year-old husband and hockey dad, was driving to his home when he witnessed commotion in the street. He saw two women running with towels, and then he saw a woman on the ground with a man standing over her, beating her.
Fahrney stopped his vehicle in the middle of the street and got out.
'What the hell is going on?'" he yelled as he approached the man, who was armed with a knife
The man ran off, and Fahrney could see that the woman was wounded and bleeding.
"I could see right through the holes in her hands," he said. "I'd imagine she was trying to fight him off."
It was in that moment — when Fahrney turned to go back to his vehicle to call 911 — when he saw the alleged attacker rush toward his still-running Jeep and hop into the driver's seat.
"I opened the door and threw him to ground, and he came back up swinging," Fahrney said. So, I started swinging."
Then came the sirens. Police arrived, and Soto ran off again.
'I could have been there sooner'
Six weeks have passed since the deadly March 27 mass stabbing that took the lives of four Rockford residents.
Mother and son, Romona Schupbach and Jacob Schupbach, were stabbed to death their home. U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Jay Larson was stabbed and run over with a truck while on his route, and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb was beaten to death in her home.
Soto is in the Winnebago County Jail. He faces multiple counts of first-degree murder among other charges.
Fahrney, one of several survivors of the attacks, just recently went back to work at at his job at TH Foods in Machesney Park.
During his time off, he continued his studies at Rock Valley College in pursuit of an electrical engineering degree.
He also got to know Lindsey Craig, the woman Soto was attacking with a knife that day when Fahrney stopped and intervened.
Fahrney first thought it was a domestic violence situation, he said. He had no idea what Soto had allegedly done just moments earlier in homes just blocks away from his own.
The weeks have given Fahrney time to heal, both physically and mentally, and to reflect.
"I stayed an extra five minutes that day (March 27) to talk to an instructor," Fahrney said. "If I wouldn't have stayed, I would have missed it. Or, I could have been there sooner."
Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana said Fahrney was at the right place at the right time, acting heroically in the face danger and without a doubt saving Craig's life.
He presented Fahrney with a civilian life-saving award at the April 25 Winnebago County Board meeting.
"Instead of four being deceased, it would have been five," Caruana said. "I guarantee you, (Soto) would have killed her."
Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and X @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hero of Eggleston Road: A Rockford man's fight with an alleged killer
