WATCH: (Apr. 4, 2014) A Detroit man thought he was doing the right thing, when he got out of his truck to check on a 10-year-old boy he accidentally struck with his vehicle. He’s now fighting for his life, after a mob of people brutally attacked him. Brian Mooar reports.
DETROIT – A suburban Detroit man remains in critical condition Friday with severe head injuries after a neighbourhood mob beat and kicked him when he stopped to check on a 10-year-old boy who stepped from a curb into the path of his pickup.
The Detroit Free Press identified the 54-year-old man as Steve Utash, a tree trimmer from Roseville, Michigan.
Utash was being treated at hospital as police scoured the east side neighbourhood where he was attacked Wednesday afternoon. The boy, David Harris, was expected to recover from his injuries, according to Desmond Key, who said he was the child’s uncle.
Key said the boy and some friends were walking to a store from their homes when the boy was hit by the truck. One of the youths raced back to David’s home and told the family about the accident.
“I heard that he ran out in the street,” Key said. “When I showed up my nephew was on the ground screaming.”
Meanwhile, the driver was getting pummelled in the driveway of a nearby gas station.
“The guy definitely was trying to fight back, but it was too many guys,” Key said. “When he finally had enough of trying to fight back he just fell to the ground. When he fell to the ground they kicked him a couple of times and then they left him alone.”
Key counted six or seven attackers.
“We don’t know those people that did that to that guy. Our main focus is on David,” he said. “We weren’t cheering it on. We weren’t rooting for it.”
Utash wasn’t at fault in the accident, said Detroit police Sgt. Michael Woody.
“A preliminary investigation shows the kid stepped off the curb in front of him,” Woody said. “No way he could have stopped in time.”
On Thursday, marked and unmarked police cruisers crisscrossed streets around the scene of the accident, which occurred about 4:10 p.m. Wednesday.
No arrests were made in the beating, but Woody said the boy’s father was taken into custody Thursday on an unrelated warrant.
Utash’s daughter Felicia told the Free Press her father was robbed of his money and credit cards during the assault.
“What happened to my dad is a shame,” she told the paper via a Facebook message. “He was doing the right thing like he always does.”
Utash’s family held a vigil Thursday night at the hospital.
–with files from Global News
Comments