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No witnesses, leads in brutal road rage beating

BY Kim Shepard  on February 15, 2013 @ 8:14 am (Updated: 3:11 pm - 2/15/13 )

An unbelievable case of road rage has left a man in intensive care. His family says if it wasn't for the kindness of a disabled Army vet he might not be alive at all today. And despite pleas for help, officials say they haven't gotten a single tip to help catch the man.

It was around 4 p.m. on Monday in a very quiet residential neighborhood in Spanaway when 46-yea- old Scott Bradford pulled out of a convenience store parking lot and admittedly cut off another driver.

It only took a moment for that small lapse in driving etiquette to turn into a nightmare. That other driver started tailgaiting Bradford, so Bradford tapped his brakes and eventually pulled over.

As soon as he was within reach, the man sucker-punched Bradford square in the jaw. The attacker hit him so hard and so many times, Bradford broke nearly every bone in his face. Four days later he is still in intensive care, with a breathing tube, unable to speak.

As the attack was happening on Monday, Mike Howard happened to be driving by. He says he saw the whole thing.

"Grabbed a handful of hair, shoved his head to the ground and starts punching him. Face taking the full blow," Howard told King 5. "I've never seen anything like this."

Howard is a double amputee. He lost his legs in a landmine explosion in Vietnam. That didn't stop him from trying to help the man being so severely beaten. He tried to slash the attacker's tires with a knife so the guy wouldn't be able to get away.

But the attacker didn't seem to have any qualms about beating an injured war hero either. Howard says the guy kicked him in the face and punched him twice before driving away.

"The sad part about it is our witness is a double amputee, and it was quite obvious that he was, and the suspect still beat him anyway," Pierce County Detective Ed Troyer told KIRO Radio's Ron and Don Show.

The man who committed the vicious attack is still at large. Troyer says they hope the public can help them find this guy.

"We're just hoping that somebody has heard about this story and he went out and bragged about it over the last few days, and if he did we want to know who he says," says Troyer. "He did a lot of damage for no reason."

As of Friday afternoon, Troyer says not a single tip or lead has come in to the department.

The attacker is described as black and in his 20's, about 5'8" with short black hair and a slender build. He was wearing a green and brown fleece coat. He was driving a forest green or gray sedan, possibly a Ford or Chevrolet.

The family is offering a reward for information on this guy. Howard, the good Samaritan, has kicked in $500 of his own money on top of what the family is offering.

In the meantime, Bradford is still in the hospital. Doctors say he will need to have at least three metal plates put in his head and reconstructive surgery.

Kim Shepard, KIRO Radio Reporter
Kim Shepard is a news anchor and reporter for KIRO Radio and the office optimist. She's energetic, quick to laugh and has a positive outlook on life.
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Comments (18)


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  • Sean wrote...
    How is it that bypassers
    February 15, 2013 8:08 am
    and other witnesses do NOT get license-plate numbers of people like this? He had to have been there for at least 30-60 seconds or so. And that would instantly ID the jack4ass who did this... Too bad. I hope they get him.
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  • Tracy White wrote...
    We weren't there
    February 15, 2013 8:44 am
    Don't second guess him. You have no idea what position he was in or how things unfolded. Just be thankful that people like this are still around.
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  • altered chords wrote...
    road rage
    February 15, 2013 11:35 am
    This was in a sleepier part of spanaway. The only "passerby" was the double amputee. This guy needs to be cannonized, not just for trying to stop it but for putting up $500 of his own money as a reward! You kidding me. This guy is a hero!
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  • Sean wrote...
    AlteredChords, I absolutely do applaud...
    February 15, 2013 12:50 pm
    this guy's bravery in trying to help. But oh how helpful a simple license-plate number -- or even a specific description of the brand of car -- would have been to put this punk slimeball behind bars, at least for a while. But no I wasn't there.
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  • ssbn629g wrote...
    My thoughts exactly...
    February 15, 2013 8:19 am
    No license plate number? Adrenalin gets going like a rush in threatening, violent situations and bless the man who stopped to help. However, rather than slash tires, get the license number first. Regardless, the assailant is a coward and once found, should have the book thrown at him. However, in today's day and age, the legal "book" is has no more teeth than a thin pamphlet.
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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    Your right
    February 15, 2013 6:01 pm
    Two words: Tuba man
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  • cw1997 wrote...
    Ah
    February 15, 2013 8:40 am
    Where was my concealed GLOCK
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  • dsbab wrote...
    A real Assault Weapon
    February 15, 2013 9:15 am
    More than three times as many people are beat to death with hands and feet than killed will rifles(all types) according to the FBI. There should therefore be a ban on hands and feet...Yet gun haters think no one needs a gun. I bet this wasn't the first and won't be the last time this piece of excrement beat someone in a rage. A .45 caliber solution would have ended this waste of good air's reign of terror.
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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    Come on already
    February 15, 2013 6:06 pm
    You think people that feel assault weapons are not needed in civilian hands are gun haters? It's people like you that go out buying as many guns as you can and bullets even though nobody is banning them. I have two Hand guns in my house and a shotgun. I think assault weapons are not needed except in war. But too many freaks think the zombie apocalypse is coming and will have to shoot their neighbors trying to steal their food. Funny.
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  • Ernie in the East wrote...
    OK MyNW where's the screaming outrage against hands?
    February 15, 2013 9:28 am
    Okay NyNorthwest where is the screaming outrage against hands? We have a man in intensive care needing reconstructive surgery to fix what this guy did...with his hands. You scream and holler when a crime is committed with a gun, now scream and holler about the abuse of hands in committing a crime. According to the FBI website for the years 2000 through 2004 there were 411, 386, 488, 392, 393 homocides by rifles. For those same years there were 927, 961, 951, 962, 933 homocides by personal weapons (hands, feet, etc.). Where's your moral outrage against this act?
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  • Hayduke wrote...
    dsbab and Ernie in the East; You can stop with your discredited lies about guns vs blunt instruments.
    February 15, 2013 12:05 pm
    http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/13/us-deaths-usa-idUSTRE64C53R20100513

    http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/gun_violence/sect01.html

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  • dori monson fan wrote...
    are people still falling for the reward
    February 15, 2013 12:18 pm
    hoax? no snitch policy will unfortunately prevail in this case. hope dude recovers.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hick_man wrote...
    concealed weapon permit
    February 15, 2013 3:59 pm
    if this poor guy would have had a hand gun he would probly be in better shape and the creep would be on the ground where he belongs. at the very least the creep wouldnt have had a chance to do this. just another reason why EVERYONE needs to stand up for their right to carry.
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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    What?
    February 15, 2013 7:07 pm
    Who says they are taking away our right to carry? You people are paranoid and maybe to unstable to carry a gun. All I have heard is they want to ban assault weapons, nothing else. You wackos did the same thing when Obama was elected. I was unable to find any ammo cause you thought he was goings to take it all. And now you think he wants your concealed permit? Relax already. People who brag about shooting others are not the types that should have guns. More likely you'd shoot your own foot.
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  • hick_man wrote...
    will the real wacko's please stand up
    February 16, 2013 8:17 am
    wacko's are the ones that think that everyone can just live in peace and harmony and live happily ever after. the wacko's are the one's that ones that say a butt kicking is better than a shooting. do you really think this mennace is a valuable member of society? by the way,the older gentleman didnt get his butt kicked,( mellissa101) he was beat with in a half of an inch of life and if he had a gun he more than likely would not have ended up where he is. its funny how just about everyone that is against a gun is a city-fied whiney snot with no real world experience who enjoys the right to voice their opinion and enjoy their freedom because of a gun. use your overrated education(that our taxes payed for by the way) to check your facts that most violent crimes are carried out by other means than a gun( knives, hands, feet, etc.) and most violent crimes there were deterred or had better than what could have happened was because of a gun. think about it, are the wacko's the ones who just sit back and watch the innocent get hurt or are the ones who stand up for their rights and to the bullies and haters. lets face it. I would love a perfect world but its not. their are just violent ppl and messing with our 2nd amendment is not gonna change a thing. criminals will still get assault guns no matter what. next time you see a soldier or a police officer, shake their hand and thank them for protecting our/your right to carry a gun in the most wonder country that we live in
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  • gohuskies77 wrote...
    Please support this
    February 17, 2013 2:37 pm
    http://fundly.com/help-scott-bradford?ft_src=FollowNotification&ft_aid=47365
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