In an apparent case of vigilante justice in Detroit, a 54-year-old motorist who was brutally attacked and robbed by a crowd was in critical condition today after he stopped to aid a 10-year-old boy he accidentally struck with his pickup. The man sustained severe head injuries. Police said the driver hit the child and then left his pickup to check on the boy when a group of about 12 men from the neighborhood, who had gathered after the accident, began to beat him.
The boy was treated in a hospital and released. The incident has prompted heated debates and discussions on social media about the legal responsibility a motorist has in staying at the scene of an accident, especially when it involves a pedestrian. Under Michigan law, a driver involved in an accident where there is an injury has a duty to stop, immediately report the accident to police and remain at the scene to give his or her name, address and other pertinent information to police. In another Detroit incident in July, a group of men attacked with a baseball bat a man who was believed to be responsible for the rape of a 15-year-old girl with Down syndrome.