After a truck driver was attacked by a mob of people when he inadvertently drove into a sideshow in Vallejo last week, his lawyer is placing the blame squarely on the city’s shoulders.
Attorney Daniel Russo described how his 34-year-old client felt as he was attacked by a mob at the sideshow.
“ ‘They’re gonna kill me. I’m going to die. This is my last moment on earth.’ He didn’t know how bad the injury was,” Russo said. “All he knew is, he was covered in blood.”
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It all started, according to Russo, when the longtime Vallejo resident was on his way home from a Sunday afternoon at the park and ran across the sideshow.
“He’s trying to make the turn to get away from this, and this Mustang does a spin and hits his truck,” Russo said.
Video of the incident shows the spectators starting to attack him.
“It’s pack mentality,” Russo said. “All rules are gone. There’s a young woman who is jumping on the truck, trying to destroy it. They’re smashing the windows, they’ve ripped the car seat out.”
The young father ran into a nearby 7/11 for help, only to be chased and beaten again. He was able to call 911 as the crowd began looting.
The dispatcher told the man to get outside, according to Russo, and video shows people taunting him as he runs.
“There’s a ton of material out here,” Russo said. “They could potentially — if we have a competent police department and a district attorney’s office that was really involved — they could find all these people.”
More than a week later, there have not yet been any arrests. Russo said he feels that Vallejo has let the criminals take over.
“We can thank the City of Vallejo, the mayor, the city council, everyone who is morally responsible for what happened,” Russo said. “Because what you have is a dysfunctional police department.”
Russo is now falling on the state to step in. He said that his client is recovering, but that what he’s endured will have a lasting impact.
“He’s traumatized,” Russo said. “And he’s thinking, ‘I’ve got to sell my house and get out of Vallejo.’ “
