A 16-year-old is facing charges of assault and ethnic intimidation in connection with a mob attack on a motorist who accidentally struck a child on Detroit's east side, reports CBS Detroit.

The teen is black and the driver, 54-year-old Steven Utash, of Clinton Township, is white.

So far, five suspects have been taken into custody in the beating of Utash, who remains in a medically induced coma with bleeding in several parts of his brain, according to the station. This is the first hate crime charge filed in the case. Prosecutors say the teen (unnamed) will remain in custody and appear at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center on April 12.

Police have said Utash was driving home from his job as a tree-trimmer on April 2 when he struck a 10-year-old boy who stepped out into the roadway. When Utash got out of his truck to check on the boy, police say he was jumped by 10 to 12 people.

"You hit my nephew, you're going to die," one man said, according to a witness.


Deborah Hughes ^ , a retired nurse, said dozens of people stood around and watched as Utash was punched, kicked, and stomped on repeatedly. She's being hailed as a hero for stepping in to stop the attack. She grabbed a gun, went outside, and guarded him from the mob.

Police said Utash was not at fault in the accident and did the right thing by stopping to check on the child. The boy he hit was treated for a broken leg.

The investigation into the beating is ongoing.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said her office "can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the crimes of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and ethnic intimidation" against the 16-year-old.

"In the case of the four adult defendants that have been charged, the facts and the evidence do not support a charge of ethnic intimidation," Worthy said.


^ Wonzey Saffold, 30; James Davis, 24; Bruce Wimbush Jr., 17; and Latrez Cummings, 19 (not pictured), were arraigned this week for charges of assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm. They are being held in the county jail on $500,000 bonds pending preliminary examinations on April 21.

(04-12-2014, 05:27 AM)Duchess Wrote:

The only thing I'm taking away from this is if I hit someone/something in a black neighborhood, don't stop, keep right on driving to the police station.