An East Bay barber who was run down by an unhappy customer sent a message of forgiveness and a call for healing to his attacker Monday night.
The 63-year-old barber, Brian Martin, suffered serious injuries when the mother of a boy Martin had just given a haircut to rammed her car into the him and through a glass storefront.
"I never get up in the morning and say, 'Dang, I have to go to work.' I love my job," Martin said. "I love the people who go through my door."
But after 29 years of running Delta Barber Shop in Antioch, Martin nearly lost his life in the Dec. 3 incident. Police say 28-year-old Ruby Delgadillo got angry over her son’s haircut.
Martin said the squirmy boy had a small scratch on his neck likely from his clippers.
"I saw pure evil in her eyes," Martin said of Delgadillo. "I saw her change in front of me."
Martin said Delgadillo first started kicking his door. When he went outside to get a photo of her license plate, he said she took aim at him with her Toyota Prius while her two boys were in the back seat.
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"I saw the eye contact," Martin said. "I saw her finger in the air flipping me off. I saw she wanted to kill me."
Martin suffered a broken leg requiring surgery and deep gashes in his hand. He’s been in a lot pain with a long recovery ahead of him. But he’s not angry.
"I have to say, I truly truly forgive her," he said.
Martin said his biggest concern is for the boys. Their mother faces attempted murder, hit-and-run and child abuse charges. He’s certain the haircut wasn’t the root of Delgadillo’s outburst and wants her to get the help she needs.
"I want her to be a good, productive, healthy mom," he said. "I want her to give those boys a good life. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. There’s nothing like losing your mom."
