I wouldn't run to safety. A lot of people think, believe, and even say what they would do in traumatic situations, but it is all instinctual and very unpredictable. I hated this one dude, and hate him even more for some things he did after this event. He was about to fall off of a 3rd story roof. I risked my life to save him without any thought. It all a happened in a split second like a car wreck. I wish I'd let him die. I don't know if you've seen video or movies of people doing this, but sometimes when people are dying other people who can save them just stand there in trance like panic and don't do anything.
I'd like to say that I would arm wrestle down the criminal, and save the stranger, but I honestly don't know what I would do.
I bicycle. When people hit me with cars, or swerve and beep at me, I usually get a big adrenaline rush and chase them down, and either hit them (with my bike), lecture them, or spit all over their car. I've never even had one try to say that they were in the right, or try to fight or anything. They usually just bow their heads looking like scolded children and listen. A lot of them roll up their windows and try to pretend like they don't know I'm there. That's the ones I spit on, and ram with my bike. These people don't go out and think, "hey; I'm gonna kill a bicyclist today", or like hey honey watch this! It is more like an instinctual thing. If you have ever had a dog whom you could talk to, by name or tell it to sit or whatever, then you will have seen when the dog sees a cat, or a squirrel and it is focused on the small animal, and won't listen to you. Drivers of cars are often the same way when they see cyclists. Humans still have primal animistic impulse, and the cars who hit me on my bicycle do not premeditate that action, but surrender to an animistic instinct within split seconds time.