A 54-year-old Roseville, Mich. man clings to life in the hospital following a brutal mob beating in Detroit after he ran over a young black boy’s leg.
The unidentified boy, 11, suffered a broken leg on Wednesday when he was hit by a pickup truck after walking into the street near Morang and Balfour on Detroit’s east side. The driver, Steven Utash, immediately got out of his truck after hitting the boy and was viciously attacked by 10 to 12 men. The beating was so brutal, Utash was rendered unconscious and unrecognizable.
Utash’s son Joseph told WWJ’s Gary Lundy Thursday night that his father remains in a medically induced coma, nearly unrecognizable due to his injuries. He also said his wallet was stolen from his truck.
“If it went on any longer, my dad wouldn’t be in the hospital right now, he would be in the morgue. The way he looked, I am surprised that he is alive,” he said. “He has bruising over his face, his eyes are swollen, I believe it’s his left eye that is completely swollen shut. He also has a big, huge knot on his forehead like he got hit with an object, not a fist.”
Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said Steven Utash was not at fault for the accident. “Our preliminary investigation shows the child stepped in front of his vehicle,” Woody said. “He did exactly the right thing. He stopped his vehicle, he got out and he tried to render aid to a small child. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. It was a small child and it was an accident; is what it was.”
“As far as a hate crime, it might be,” he said. “You know, it’s like you go in Detroit and you’re white, you don’t belong. Seriously. I’ve been pulled over by police before and they’re like ‘Get back across 8 Mile,’ like I’m not supposed to be over there, like I’m not allowed to go in Detroit.”
Others dispute Steven Utash’s position that this is a hate crime. A black driver would have, and has been, subjected to brutal or fatal beatings under similar circumstances.
Police declined to say if investigators thought the attack was racially charged.
The boy, David Harris, is expected to recover from his injuries, according to his uncle, Desmond Key. No arrests have been made in the beating, but the boy’s father was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant.
