You often hear what happens to the people who commit crimes, but what about their victims? An Allentown woman tells 69 News, her life has turned into a nightmare since she was allegedly attacked at a Whitehall shopping center.

In better times, Tammy Fegley helped the elderly with their physical ailments. Today, her own life is filled with painful therapy. Even basic household chores are an ordeal.

"Everything's tough to do," she said. "I mean, nothing's like it was."

But it didn't have to be this way. Fegley's life changed forever in September. She was loading her trunk outside the Dollar General on MacArthur Road when she says a man violently attacked her.

"The man came up behind me, he stole my purse," she said.

Fegley said her attacker rammed into her with his car -- twice.

"He hit me once. It knocked me back but not down. He backed the car up. He revved the engine, floored it and hit me a second time," she said. "Pretty much remember thinking I was going to die because my head was hitting the tire."

Suspect Jose Gabriel Rivera-Cabrera, still awaiting trial, has a long rap sheet. This story is not about him, though; it's about what happens to victims after the headlines fade.

"I've lost my job, I'm in pain, I'm not living the life I was."

According to Fegley, attorneys won't take her case because her suspected attacker has no money. Then, just this week, she said a representative from her health insurer threatened to place a lien on her home.

Wednesday, a spokesman for Fegley's health insurer, Aetna, said the company has no plans to file a lien. However, if Fegley ended up receiving a large monetary settlement, the spokesman said Aetna does have a legal right to part of the money. He added, though, the company would only take the action if there is a sizable settlement in the case.

Fegley wondered if her alleged attacker has it better than she does.

"He's sitting in jail -- free food, a roof over his head, clothing, free health insurance and a free attorney -- and here sits me, the victim, with nothing."

Pennsylvania does have a crime victims' compensation fund, but it's a payer of last resort, meaning victims must exhaust every other funding option first.advoc