Young Father Dies After Being Punched for Trying to Help Friend in Car Accident in Philadelphia

An Asian man trying to help a friend was brutally attacked in Philadelphia’s Juniata neighborhood on May 24 and later died due to severe brain damage.

The incident: Wei Lin, 28, served as a translator for one of his restaurant’s drivers who had gotten into a minor crash with another vehicle in the area of L and Luzerne streets, WPVI reported.

The employee didn’t speak English and called Lin for help to talk with the woman from the other car.
Lin spoke with the female driver, exchanged information and called the police to look into the matter.
According to Lin’s wife, Zhang, the authorities hadn’t arrived yet when a male relative of the female driver showed up “out of nowhere” and punched Lin, causing him to “collapse.”
“It was a fist and a really heavy hit at my husband’s head,” Zhang recalled.

The aftermath: Lin was in critical condition when he was brought to the ICU of Temple University Hospital for treatment, reported Philly Voice. Lin succumbed to his injuries on May 27.

The suspect, identified as Jose Figueroa, 30, of Hunting Park, has since been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, simple assault, conspiracy to commit simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Lin’s brother created a GoFundMe campaign to support Lin’s family. He had just “welcomed a baby girl 3 months ago” and also left behind a 19-month-old child.
The funding campaign has raised over $135,000 as of this writing.
Local authorities did not look into the incident as a hate crime.
Figueroa and Lin did not know each other before the incident and “no racial or ethnic slurs were exchanged.”

Featured Image via 6ABC Philadelphia

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