DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 55-year-old Westland man is facing an aggravated assault charge after allegedly beating up an 84-year-old man during a road rage incident in a Kroger parking lot.
The incident occurred Friday in a Kroger parking lot on Dearborn's west side. Dearborn police said witness accounts and surveillance footage helped them arrest the suspect just a day later.
Watch the video report below:
Judo Whittaker, 84, remains hospitalized following the attack that left him with a concussion and needing hip replacement surgery.
"I hit Michigan Avenue and all of a sudden, it dawned on me, dang there's the mailboxes, but I can't back this guy up, he's right behind me," Whittaker said.
Watch our extended interview with Judo Whittaker in the video player below:
From his hospital bed, Whittaker explained how the driver in the truck behind him became enraged as he slowly pulled out of the Kroger parking lot while staying in the right lane on Michigan Avenue. Whittaker was attempting to turn back into the lot to drop off mail.
"He pulls beside me beeping his horn like a raging maniac and calling me names," Whittaker said. "He's calling me names, throwing his finger at me and all that bull****, and I threw it back."
Whittaker said the driver then abruptly turned in front of him and hit the brakes. Whittaker went around the truck to get to the mailbox.
"I wasn't quite out of the car and he comes running, he gets to my car real quick, jumped out of the truck and got to me that quick, honest to God," Whittaker said. "He gets deep into my face as close as possible and I told him 'man, get your face out of my face.' He's only an inch away."
According to Whittaker, when the man lunged at him, he pushed him away. A brief fight ensued, ending with Whittaker falling hard to the ground.
"I'm moaning and groaning. I really hit hard," Whittaker said.
The attacker fled the scene while bystanders rushed to help Whittaker, who was taken to the hospital with a concussion and needed surgery for a hip replacement.
"When he was in back of me, he had to have known I had a handicap plate on that car. He had to have known it," Whittaker said.
A lifelong Dearborn resident, Whittaker is well known in town, regularly meeting with his morning coffee crew twice a week — activities that will now be much harder for him.
"All I know is I gotta take it easy, can't lift any weights, no nothing," Whittaker said.
After Whittaker's niece posted about the incident on Facebook, thousands of people shared the story. Thanks to witnesses and surveillance video, the suspect was arrested the next day.
In a statement, Dearborn's Police Chief said: "Such violence is completely unacceptable in our city and we will use all resources to pursue justice for victims and their families."
The suspect, John Kreitner, was arraigned on a $20,000 cash bond. He's due back in court next week.
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