ZACHARY - Deputies have arrested a man accused of randomly attacking a postal worker on her route on New Year's Eve.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested Lionel Haile, 28, on Thursday after a nearly week-long search for the suspect. The department said the violent attack was captured on surveillance video, and the recordings helped tie Haile to the crime. 

According to arrest records, the victim was delivering mail at the Audubon Park apartment complex along Mount Pleasant Road when Haile approached her and asked if she wanted a bottle of water. Haile briefly left, returned with a water bottle and handed it to the worker.

When the woman turned her back, Haile allegedly pulled a knife and dragged her out of the mail truck. He then reportedly threw her to the ground and attacked her with the knife.

Deputies said she suffered a stab wound to the leg and bruises all over her body. 

The woman fought off her attacker and escaped, the sheriff's office said. She was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Haile was booked on a charge of attempted second-degree murder.