A 65-year-old Riverside County woman says her physical and mental health have deteriorated since she was violently struck in the face by an alleged speeding driver that stopped, got out of his car and attacked her.
The assault, which happened two weeks ago, according to the victim, Norco resident Wendy Hamilton, was captured on several home surveillance cameras.
“I am so upset,” she told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw. “It’s a lot to deal with and it’s altered my health and that’s horrible.”
Witnesses say the incident happened after a neighbor yelled at the man to slow down on the neighborhood streets.
“Mikey yelled out slow down and the guy put it in park and got out ready to fight,” Hamilton explained.
That’s when the 65-year-old said she grabbed her cellphone to take a picture of the man’s license plate, but before anyone knew what was happening, the man got out of his vehicle turned on her.
“He saw me, and he came for me, and he was trying to steal my phone,” she said. “He kept demanding me, ‘Give me your phone, give me your phone.’”
Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene where they cited him for assault and battery charges and released him.
For her part, Hamilton believes that more should have been done to her attacker.
“I remember standing there with three sheriffs not feeling safe because he was standing directly across the street from my home,” she said.
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Even two weeks after the incident, Hamilton says she’s on edge because the suspect lives in her neighborhood.
“I have a lot of anxiety attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, absolutely,” she said.
While the suspect was cited for assault and battery, authorities told KTLA it will be up to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office on whether to file charges in the case.
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