Sandlot Actor Sued Over Near Fatal Halloween Attack
A graduate student has sued five men, including child actor-turned-firefighter Michael Anthony Vitar, who starred in “Sandlot” and the “Mighty Ducks,” over a Halloween 2015 attack that left him with permanent brain damage.
A video of the incident shows victim Samuel Chang, then 23, struggling with the men as he was being held in a choke hold with his hands chained behind his back. Chang can be heard struggling to breathe before going silent when his heart stops beating. He appears lifeless as Vitar and co-defendant Eric Carpenter roll him onto his back and begin chest compressions.
Several seconds later Chang starts breathing again as one of the men says, “There you go, keep breathing!”
Carpenter would later tell paramedics that Chang was pulseless, not breathing and had dilated pupils. Chang was hospitalized for two weeks suffering from traumatic brain injury and kidney failure, according to a press release.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges assault, battery and false imprisonment against Vitar and four of his friends, including Carpenter. Both Vitar and Carpenter work for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“Samuel was doing something millions of people do every year – [handing] out candy to children on Halloween. But the defendants chased him down the street and beat him until he was actually dead,” said Chang’s attorney, David Ring, in a statement. “It’s a miracle I didn’t file a wrongful death case today. This is one of the most horrific events I have seen in my long career representing victims.”
Vitar and two others were charged with felony assault in December 2016, but were all allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and did not spend any time in jail, according to Ring’s office. The other defendants were not charged. Vitar and Carpenter were suspended for six months by Los Angeles Fire Department and returned to work last month.
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Source: Sandlot Actor Sued Over Near Fatal Halloween Attack
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