The family of Steve Utash, the 54-year-old tree trimmer from Roseville, is keeping a vigil at St. John Hospital and Medical Center, where Utash is unconscious and clinging to life after being beaten by a group of men on Detroit’s east side Wednesday, Katrease Stafford and Robert Allen report in the Free Press.
The attack took place after Utash's pickup hit 10-year-old David Harris, who stepped off a curb into its path. Police said Utash was not at fault in the accident, and he did the right thing by stopping to see about the child who had walked into his car. Harris was not seriously injured.
The driver's daughter, Felicia Utash, told the Free Press that after Utash was beaten, he was robbed of his money, wallet and credit cards.
In the Detroit News, Tony Briscoe and Orlander Brand-Williams report the incident has prompted heated debates and discussions -- often with a racially charged animosity because the victim is white and the attackers were African American -- on social media and across Metro Detroit. One topic of discussion is a motorist's legal obligation to stay at an accident scene, especially when it involves a pedestrian.
“Generally speaking, if a driver hits a pedestrian, he or she should remain on the scene and call 911 for police and EMS to arrive,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who stressed she was not speaking about this incident. “If the driver is in danger at the scene, he or she should immediately call 911 to request that EMS assist the victim and so the police can investigate the scene. The driver should drive to nearest police station to report the situation.”
Detroit police are reviewing gas station surveillance tapes and canvassing the east side neighborhood around Morang and Balfour, where the attack took place.
Desmond Key, the uncle of the 10-year-old boy, said David was walking home from a nearby store when he was hit. When neighbors told the family that David was hurt, several members of the family rushed to the scene, including Key and his brother-in-law, the boy’s father, who ran out of the house shoeless. .
When they got to the scene, he said several men were attacking the driver.
“They hit the man and when he fell, they all started dispersing,” Harris said.
Witnesses who didn’t want to be identified said the first assailants to beat the man were about 15-16 years old. Older men then reportedly joined in.
Relatives of the injured boy condemn the attack WXYZ-TV reports. The driver's daughters say the boy's family members wanted to to talk to them at the hospital, but it was just too early and they haven't been able to speak with their father.
