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Police: Man Beaten Unconscious By Crowd After Striking Child With His Car

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police are looking for suspects in the beating of a driver who investigators say accidentally hit a young child on the city's east side.

The incident happened on Morang near Cadieux in Detroit Wednesday afternoon.

Debra Hughes says she saw the attack and claims it was a group of mostly teenagers who beat the man unconscious.

Hughes told WWJ's Stephanie Davis that the boy was hit after he ran into the street and that the driver stopped to check on the child, and when he did, he was beaten.

Hughes intervened and stopped the attack: "He was already down, bleeding from the mouth and the nose - so there wasn't nothing else they could do to him but kill him," she said.

"Then EMS came and I kept him calm, I kept his hands down and everything so he could be comfortable," said Hughes. "He had the biggest gash on his head I ever seen - he was bleeding from the mouth and he was unconscious when I first got there ... being a registered nurse, I thought I could go out and help him."

Police say the 54-year-old man, whose wallet was also stolen, wasn't at fault for the accident. He's currently hospitalized in critical condition.

The child's condition has not been released, although reports indicate he suffered a broken leg.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact police at 313-267-4600.

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