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



By Ryan General
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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