Let's Pray for Chris Wright and his girlfriendThis makes me angry. These people who done this heinous deed should be locked up for life. There's no place in society for intolerance and hatred.
Man hospitalized after possible racially motivated assault
11:12 AM CST on Thursday, March 8, 2007
Associated Press
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas -- A 26-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition with injuries from an altercation authorities say might have been racially motivated and the suspect in the case surrendered Wednesday night.
Chris Wright's father said his "son's face is ruined" after he was dragged by a truck.
Christopher Wright, 26, of Sulphur Springs, was being treated at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler for facial injuries, bruised lungs and a fractured spine.
“We have done an initial surgery and we will just have to wait and see how he progresses before we know what if any other surgeries are needed,” trauma surgeon Dr. John Berne told the Tyler Morning Telegraph for its online edition Wednesday.
Authorities issued a warrant for Judson Weaver, 24, of Sulphur Springs, on a charge of aggravated assualt with a deadly weapon. A call to the offices of Weaver’s attorney was not immediately returned to The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
Weaver turned himself in Wednesday night and was arraigned but had not spoken with investigators. Bond was set at $50,000, said Hopkins County District Attorney Martin Braddy.
Investigators say Wright, who is black, and Weaver, who is white, became involved in a verbal dispute inside the Days Inn lounge late Tuesday. Wright had been waiting to take home his girlfriend, a bartender at the lounge who is white, Braddy said.
Authorities say Weaver was asked to leave but returned and approached Wright and his girlfriend as they left. As Wright leaned into the driver’s side of the man’s vehicle, the man sped away, Braddy said.
“His arm was stuck somehow in the truck and the driver just sped off. He knew Chris was trapped, but he didn’t care,” Wright’s girlfriend, Sarah Ashley, told the newspaper. “Chris didn’t get free until the driver hit the median and Chris went face first into the curb.”
Investigators are still interviewing witnesses and looking at the motive for the altercation.
“There’s some evidence that could potentially lead to the conclusion that race was a motivating factor,” Braddy said. “However, we are far from making that determination. It’s still in the early stages.”
Wright’s family said the incident was the culmination of racial taunts Wright and his girlfriend have endured for months. Ashley said they had even been threatened with violence.
After Wright was hurt, Ashley said she drove him to a hospital in Sulphur Springs.
“He kept telling me it was going to be all right and I kept telling him he would be OK,” she said. “I just keep seeing him being dragged and that’s all I see.”
Texas authorities can use a hate crime enhancement on penalties. The James Byrd Hate Crime Act raises the punishment for crimes motivated by the victim’s race, religion, color, sex, disability, sexual preference, age or national origin. It is named for the East Texas black man who was dragged to his death from a pickup truck by three white men in 1998.
Students held a vigil for the victims of the
Window Photo of the professor shot at VT on Monday
