The Florida teen sucker-punched by another student during a high school race is considering filing a lawsuit against the boy who ran onto the track and attacked from behind last month.
At the end of March, violence erupted during the 1,600-meter race at the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida, when the first-place runner was brutally assaulted in the middle of his run.
According to reports, the teen who was in first place reportedly yelled at another student to move because he was partially blocking the track.
Instead of staying off the track, though, the student who was not a contestant in the race apparently walked out onto the track and stood directly in the front-place runner’s path on the next lap, causing the runner to shove the student aside.
That shove apparently spurred the student to chase after the first-place runner and deliver a vicious sucker punch to the back of the first-place runner’s head. The unexpected blow caused the runner to tumble to the ground, according to video of the incident.
Attorney Nathan Carter later told TMZ that the assaulted runner suffered a concussion and is now considering a lawsuit.
Carter also noted that the police spokesman who said the assaulted runner was not interested in pressing charges was incorrect.
“The family has read reports that the OCSD claims [my client] refused to press charges. This is false,” Carter said.
Carter added that the reason no charges were immediately filed is that the sheriff’s deputy threatened to arrest the victim, too, if he pressed charges.
The attorney said that prosecutors later told the family that the police officer was wrong, and now it appears official charges against the attacker have not been ruled out.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston
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