Norco woman hit in face by driver who was allegedly speeding through neighborhood
NORCO, Calif. - A 65-year-old woman in Norco wants a man behind bars after she says he punched her in the face.
"He punched me in the face," said Wendy Hamilton. "You can see my bruise. It’s still here after 15 days."
The incident was caught on surveillance video about two weeks ago, in a rural neighborhood in Norco. According to Hamilton, she had been doing artwork in her garage when a car went speeding by. Her neighbor's 7-year-old son had been outside playing near the street. That’s when Hamilton said her neighbor told the driver to slow down.
"The guy put it in park, got out, and was ready to fight," said Hamilton. "He pushed [my neighbor]. That’s when I picked up my phone and walked into the street to take a picture of the license plate on his van, on the front side."
Cellphone and surveillance video captured what happened next. The driver and Hamilton had a tug of war match over her cellphone. Then, Hamilton said she was punched and fell to the ground, hitting the back of her head on the street.
"Being a senior citizen and a female, and him being 20 years younger, it’s very discouraging," said Hamilton. "He needs anger management classes, and he needs some time behind bars to think about what he did."
SUGGESTED: Homeless man breaks into Westminster home, resident offers suspect food, drink
Now, 15 days since the hit, Hamilton says she still has a bruised tailbone, sprained left foot, and a black eye. According to Hamilton, the driver was issued a misdemeanor citation, but she believes more should have been done.
"I feel like nobody cares," said Hamilton. "[The Sheriff’s Department] says they’re on my side, but quite frankly, I don’t feel like that’s the case. We’ll see in the next few weeks I guess."
In a statement to FOX 11, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said that deputies "determined an assault and battery had occurred," and that the man was "arrested and received a written citation for the charges of assault and battery. The investigation was forwarded to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office for prosecution. No additional details are available."