An Appling man was stabbed while trying to break up a fight at a Columbia County park Wednesday night.

The fight between two young men broke out at about 11:30 p.m. at Riverside Park off Hardy McManus Road, according to Columbia County sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris. When William Chad Drummond, 20, of Yelton Road, attempted to break up the scuffle, one of the men stabbed him in the forearm.

Mr. Drummond defended himself and punched the man, but then was stabbed in the upper right torso.

When police arrived, Mr. Drummond was sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck, bleeding profusely from the arm and upper chest, police said.

He was taken to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital with what were likely non-life-threatening injuries, said Capt. Morris. A hospital spokeswoman said she had no information on him.

The suspect – described as a white man, 18 to 20 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 145-150 pounds, wearing a baggy black T-shirt with a white star on the front – fled the park in a white Ford F-150 pickup.

A witness followed the truck and noted the tag number for police.

Capt. Morris said the suspect has been identified and police are expecting to interview him this morning.