El Cajon, California (KGTV) - A 71-year-old man is recovering after a terrible attack outside a tram station in El Cajon.

Last Wednesday, at about 5 in the morning, at the tram stop on Arnell Avenue, Jose Serra got out of the car and started walking a quarter mile to a manufacturing plant, where his friend Todd Jones hired him to do odd jobs.

"He's a man who doesn't hurt flies... I know he is to himself when he is on the trolley," Jones said.

The police said that when Sella pulled off the trolley, someone was watching him and following him as he left the station.

Jones said that about a block away, Sierra was attacked by a man with a one-foot knife.

"Just walked on the sidewalk. This man walked up to him, took out a knife, and started to poke and chop him," Jones said.

After stabbing him a few times, the man ran away, probably Serra's backpack. Serra was discovered by onlookers.

"His hands and arms were stabbed, and the back of his head was chopped forward. The ears were hanging there. He had to undergo cosmetic surgery.

Jones said that Serra was stabbed twice in the stomach and damaged his intestines.

"A knife pierced his back and cut his main artery there. The nurse told me that usually no one is spared. It looks like he will survive... a miracle," Jones said.

Jones said Sierra suffered a long year of health problems before the attack and now faces a long road to recovery. Sierra recently lost her job as a janitor. Jones hopes that anyone with information will come forward.

Jones said: "We need to find this person, because a person who uses this kind of knife can definitely kill anyone."

Sierra is a Filipino, and the police said there is no indication that race is the motive. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a shaved head, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, 175 to 200 pounds in weight, and may have tattoos on his arms.

Jones said Serra confirmed that his attacker was on a trolley and asked him about the route to Spring Valley.

Anyone with information is required to call the El Cajon police at 619-579-3311, or call the fight crime hotline at 888-580-8477.

The Gofundme campaign has been set up to help Serra pay for it.