Wawa to pay injured worker's bills

BARBARA ZIMATH is seeing the best in humanity, less than a week after she experienced the worst.

A Wawa spokeswoman said the company will provide the longtime employee with "financial support for bills incurred" after she was brutally beaten last Wednesday by two heartless thugs in Port Richmond.

A steady stream of Daily News readers also reached out and offered to donate money to Zimath, 30, who doesn't have health insurance, after her harrowing tale appeared in the paper Saturday.

"It's overwhelming," she said yesterday, before heading to a doctor. "I really appreciate what people are trying to do for me."

The mother of two was waiting for the Route 15 bus on Richmond Street near Lehigh Avenue about 6 a.m. when police say two men emerged from a car and viciously pummeled her in the face before fleeing with her purse and cellphone.

She was headed to the Wawa on Richmond Street near Allegheny Avenue where she's worked for much of the last 12 years.

In the terror-filled moments after the predawn attack, she said, she realized that her teeth "were no longer in my mouth."

Doctors at Temple University Hospital managed to wire her teeth back into place and stitch up some cuts in her mouth. But a bone above her gumline was fractured, and it's unclear if she'll have to undergo surgery.

She was apprehensive about hefty medical bills. But spokeswoman Lori Bruce said Wawa would aid Zimath through its catastrophic-assistance fund.

Meanwhile, the punks who battered Zimath were still on the loose. They were described as Hispanic men in their 20s, both of whom wore white T-shirts and blue jeans. One was 5 feet 9, 160 pounds; the other was 6 feet, about 170 pounds.

Zimath said two other men waited for the attackers in a green four-door vehicle.

Tipsters can call East Detectives at 215-686-3243 or -3244.