A Sharpsburg man is accused of beating another man into unconsciousness at the Wood Street Light Rail Transit station and throwing him onto the tracks in a racially motivated attack, according to Port Authority police.
Willie J. Hayes, 46, who is black, was charged Wednesday with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation in connection with the Saturday evening attack, according to a criminal complaint.
Surveillance video from the T Station showed Hayes approach the victim, Charles Basarab, who is white, on the platform just before 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the complaint. Hayes then punched Mr. Basarab three times before throwing Mr. Basarab onto the tracks, according to the complaint.
Hayes then walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at Mr. Basarab, who appeared to be unconscious, before leaving the station.
Two witnesses told Port Authority police that just before the attack, Hayes said he was going to kill Mr. Basarab because Mr. Basarab was white, according to the complaint. The witnesses said after Hayes threw Mr. Basarab onto the tracks, he looked down at the man and said, “I [expletive] told you I was going to kill you.”
Mr. Basarab, who was pulled from the tracks by first responders, was bloodied, cut and bruised, according to the complaint. He suffered several broken bones including several ribs, facial bones and his arm. He also suffered from internal bleeding, according to the complaint.
He told police at the scene he couldn’t remember how he ended up on the tracks. Later, at a hospital, he said he remembered that Hayes said he was attacking Mr. Basarab because he was white, according to the complaint.
www.post-gazette.com
