Boston Man, 82, Attacked by Group of ATV and Dirt Bike Riders While Picking Up Thanksgiving Turkey

"It's heartbreaking for us to know that it's not safe for our 82-year-old father to be out by himself," the victim's daughter said after the attack

 

By Joelle Goldstein

An 82-year-old man has been hospitalized with "serious injuries" after authorities say he was attacked by a group of ATV and dirt bike riders in Boston.

The daughter of the unidentified victim told ABC affiliate WCVB that she was still devastated over the brutal gang attack on her elderly father last Thursday evening.

"He wasn't doing anything wrong," she told the outlet. "He's simply traveling somewhere and then he gets attacked, and it's heartbreaking for us to know that it's not safe for our 82-year-old father to be out by himself."

"[We're] discouraged at humanity, in general, to know that someone — or more than someone — can get together and beat on a defenseless elderly man," she added.

According to a press release from the Massachusetts State Police, the incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 as the man was driving his 1996 Buick Century through the Fenway neighborhood.

"He was going to pick up a turkey. That's all he was doing," his daughter told WCVB. "A simple errand at 7:30 at night. You wouldn't think that it would be a dangerous time for someone to be out."

STATE POLICE SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP IN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTACK BY DIRT BIKE, ATV RIDERS ON ELDERLY MOTORIST

The Massachusetts State Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying multiple suspects who, while operating dirt bikes and ATVs, surrounded and assaulted an 82-year-old motorist in Boston last Thursday. The victim, a Brookline man, suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized but is expected to survive.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. on November 18, the victi...

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As the man approached the Bowker Overpass, authorities said about "30 to 40 off-road motorcycles and ATVs" surrounded him.

The group forced him onto the curb of the right-hand side of the road before "several of them began smashing the windows of the victim's car," the release stated.

The man was able to drive away and headed in the direction of a police station to get help, but the group followed him and began "kicking and striking the victim's vehicle again," according to the release.

He continued driving until he became stuck in traffic near the DoubleTree hotel in Allston, where the man put his window down and attempted to ask people in another car to call 911.

"While the victim's car window was down, one of the riders, a male, approached him on foot and began punching the victim through the open window," state police said. "At the same time, other riders continued to kick the victim's car. One of the suspects threw a piece of pipe through the car's rear window; another threw a large rock through one of the car windows."

Once traffic began to flow again, the man started driving and continued on until he reached Joe's Kwik Market, where authorities said he got out of his vehicle and fell to the ground.

Boston EMS was then called to the scene and transported the man to St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, where he remains with "serious injuries" but "is expected to survive," the release stated.

"He's still beat up and swollen. He's still in a lot of pain, but he's getting stronger and getting better every day," his daughter told NBC Boston. "That's the hardest thing for us to wrap our heads around, that there's people out there that are violent, angry, careless."

"We do look at this as an attempted murder," she added to WCVB. "This wasn't just some sort of assault. He could have really died."

The man's daughter also noted to the outlet that he had a heart valve replaced recently, and he put his arm up to protect his heart during the attack.

"The only thing he could do was protect his heart. That's why he's got such a large bruise on his arm," she explained to WCVB. "He's definitely sad and discouraged. He described it as a nightmare and I think that's exactly what it was for him."

At this time, it is unclear why the man was attacked or what the group's intentions were.

In their press release, which showed footage of the ATV and biker group prior to the incident, State Police said they are currently investigating the attack.

Authorities are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has cell phone footage of the group, to contact the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County at (617) 727-8817.

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Boston Man, 82, Attacked by Group of ATV and Dirt Bike Riders While Picking Up Thanksgiving Turkey