HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - A young father who was beaten with a bat after a road rage dispute in Hialeah is telling 7News his side of the story.
The subject was caught on cellphone video swinging a bat at victim Ernesto Morales who was left bruised and fearing for his life on July 16.
“He swings, and I put up my hand, and he got me on my fingers,” Morales told 7News, “and then he hit me on the leg real good.”
The 22-year-old father of a baby boy said he earns his living by delivering food and was on the job near an apartment building along West Okeechobee Road and Northwest 98th Street when the incident happened.
“Leave me alone. I’m working. I’m not supposed to be getting in any type of deal, you know, I could get fired for this,” Morales said. “He saw that he didn’t get a reaction out of me when he lunged at me.”
Morales said that’s when the subject went back to his vehicle to get the bat.
“He runs to his trunk, and on the left side of his trunk is where he pulls out the bat,” Morales said. “He knew where that bat was. As soon as he popped open that trunk, he reached out to the left side and he took it out.”
The cellphone video showed Morales in the red shirt as he got hit in the leg with the baseball bat.
He showed us his bruises that were left behind after the attack.
“It’s crazy, man. To believe that, like I said, he’s a grown man,” Morales said. “I thought he had more knowledge, you know, he had more common sense to actually really physically hit me with the bat. I was fearing for my life. I have a family to provide to. I have a kid, at the end of the day, to go back home to.”
Morales said the subject believed he was cut off, and that’s when he got upset. The subject could be heard on video saying, “I honked at him, and he stopped the car, so I can hit him. You don’t do that. It’s very disrespectful.”
“It’s clearly a road rage situation where my client was driving, didn’t see him on his right-hand side and may have cut him off unintentionally,” said the victim’s attorney, David Kubiliun. “They kept going, and when my client got to the apartment building where he was going to make the delivery, that’s when this guy just came out of his car and violently attacked our client.”
Morales hired his attorney to get some answers from police.
“My client’s been trying to contact the Hialeah Police Department several times for them to take some action here,” Kubiliun said. “I mean, we have a video for God’s sake of a clear crime being committed, and the City of Hialeah Police Department hasn’t even acted upon it? We’re calling on them to act upon this and take some action.”
7News has reached out to the Hialeah Police Department numerous times. They said they are still looking into the altercation.
“It could have escalated even worse. Thank God the guy didn’t have a gun,” Kubiliun said.
Morales is frustrated that he hasn’t gotten any answers. “This happened last week Monday. I’ve been trying to get in reach with the officer all these days,” Morales said.
The subject is still on the streets and Morales wants him caught.
If you have any information on this attack, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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