Family members say a young woman died following an alleged road rage incident on Thursday in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
The mother of 26-year-old Destini Decoff said she lost her daughter on Saturday, and the victim experienced complications when doctors performed surgery the day before she passed, NBC Boston reported Sunday.
An image shows the young woman:
UPDATE: Destini Decoff's mom says her daughter died from her injuries Saturday afternoon after she was critically injured in a road rage incident Thursday night in Hopkinton. https://t.co/w2hRML9Dwg
— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) April 8, 2024
The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said 36-year-old Ryan Sweatt is facing charges in the case. Those charges include assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, operating to endanger, and a marked lanes violation.
The incident happened on the street outside Cornell’s Irish Pub, per NBC.
Officials say a preliminary investigation suggests the suspect was driving that evening when he became engaged in a road rage incident involving another car.
“At some point, some of the occupants of the other vehicle, including the victim, exited the car. Sweatt then made a U-turn at a high rate of speed and struck the victim in the road,” the NBC report said.
Prosecutors said the victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A man who witnessed the incident told CBS Boston that he and others noticed alleged “road rage” nearby.
When speaking of the victim, Brett Martin said, “I saw her midair, kind of coming down towards the street… Her jacket must have been 20 feet away from her. So, however she got hit, those clothes flew off”:
The suspect later told law enforcement that several people in a car behind him exited their vehicle at the intersection and threatened to kill him. He also claimed that one of them brandished a knife.
“Sweatt reportedly drove away, but that’s when prosecutors said he made the conscious decision to turn around,” the NBC Boston article said.
Martin covered the young woman and remained at the scene until emergency crews arrived to assist.
When prosecutor Pavan Nagavelli described the woman’s injuries in court, he said, “She suffered major internal injuries, including extensive facial trauma. Her pelvis and both legs were likely broken. Her pupils are unreactive, and the victim was not getting adequate breathing.”
Martin said of the suspect, “He could have just kept going. He chose to turn around. He chose to come back. He knew what he was doing when he went towards that girl,” according to WCVB:
The outlet noted a not guilty plea was entered on the suspect’s behalf in the case, and officials are holding him without bail.
