Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he was attacked outside Florida hotel in March

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he was blind-sided during an attack on him outside a South Florida hotel following a concert earlier this year.

“I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this [flash] and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground,” Allen, 59, told ABC's “Good Morning America” in an interview broadcast Monday. “I landed on my backside — hit my head on the pavement.”

Def Leppard was in Fort Lauderdale to perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino when he was attacked March 13 while taking a smoke break outside a hotel.

Police arrested Max Hartley, 19, from Avon, Ohio, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of battery and four counts of criminal mischief, according to court records. Police said they have not determined a motive.

“I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm,” said Allen, who lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984.

According to the police report, Hartley was hiding behind a pillar outside the hotel and then ran at Allen, knocking him to the ground. He also attacked a woman who tried to help Allen, but she wasn't seriously injured.

Hartley then ran to another hotel and started breaking car windows until he was stopped by witnesses and police arrived, authorities said.

Hartley's lawyer, Kevin Gardiner, said in an email that he can't comment on a pending case.