Victim D.J. Choate
Posted on 07/13/2006 3:24:38 PM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
(CBS) BURBANK, Ill. A 15-year-old southwest suburban boy and his friends are wondering what could have made a group of teens beat him, then take his prosthetic leg and use it as a weapon on a friend who came to his rescue.
As CBS 2’s Kristyn Hartman reports, D.J. Choate of Burbank is now without his leg after losing it in a scuffle his friends call unthinkable.
Choate and some friends were outside near 79th Street and Nagle Avenue when a group of teens drove past and almost hit him on Monday morning just after midnight.
Choate said he and his friends believed the teens were drunk, and they called the teens on their behavior. The teens exited the car, and when they did so, Choate asked to be left alone because he only had one leg.
But one of the teens shoved Choate to the ground and removed his leg. Police said when a 20-year-old friend tried to help Choate, one of the attackers used the leg as a weapon to hit him in the head.
The teens then smashed the artificial leg on the ground and drove off, police said.
“There was no reason for anyone to jump on us,” Choate said. “We did nothing. Nothing wrong.”
Choate added there was “no reason, not one reason” for the assailants to take his leg. “That’s demented right there,” he said.
Added Choate’s friend Victoria Campbell, “I really don’t know what to say about it. He didn’t do nothing wrong. He was just in there trying to help his friend out.”
The prosthetic leg was severely damaged. Choate needs a new prosthetic leg and without a replacement, he cannot walk normally.
Police say they are looking for five men who speak Polish or broken English.
Victim D.J. Choate
I'm trying real hard.
just trying to give him a leg up
Me too.
I'm trying to remember the joke about "a one legged man at an ass kicking contest."
It's not like the kid was unarmed.
Ping
he used to be a foot taller...
but now he can't foot the bill.
The thugs told him to leg it.
Aww you're pullin my leg.
You don't kneed to be so harsh.
"The prosthetic leg was severely damaged. Choate needs a new prosthetic leg and without a replacement, he cannot walk normally."
Ya think?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
