BOSTON -- Boston police said they rescued a woman in Allston after a stranger grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her down Commonwealth Avenue last Saturday morning.

Police said they got a call about 9:30 a.m. that a woman was screaming on the street near 1308 Commonwealth Ave.

When they got to the scene, officers said they saw a man dragging a 37-year-old woman down the street by her neck and hair as she flailed her arms in an attempt to fend off her assailant.

“As bizarre and disturbing as the scene was, it could have been much, much worse if residents hadn’t notified police immediately,” Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said.

When he saw them coming, police said, he ran into the vestibule of a nearby building, waving his arms at them, screaming loudly and struggling against efforts to handcuff him.

He also allegedly refused to take part in the booking process when taken to the District 14 police station.

The woman said she did not know the man and had never seen him before. She was treated and released at the scene.

The man, Walter E. Reyes-Fabian, 25, was charged with kidnapping, assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.

Prosecutors recommended that Reyes-Fabian be held on $10,000 bail; Brighton District Court Judge David T. Donnelly set bail at $7,500 and ordered Reyes-Fabian to return to court on Oct. 19.