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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Malden man is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday after smashing a vehicle's front and rear windshields with a baseball bat, injuring a one-year-old child inside, and fleeing the scene, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
66-year-old Clifford Jones of Malden was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child under 14, malicious destruction of property, possession of a class D substance, selling unstamped cigarettes, and selling cigarettes without a license.
Authorities said on July 18, Boston police responded to a possible hit and run around the area of 150 Camden St. in the South End. Officers were informed that the victim was driving after the suspect near Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.
The victim told police that Jones backed into his car, and after an argument ensued when they both got out to check on the damage, Jones got a baseball bat and began smashing the windshields of the victim's vehicle, causing glass to rain down on the victim's one-year-old daughter sitting in the backseat, authorities said. The child was evaluated by Boston EMS and taken to the hospital for lacerations and glass contamination.
According to officials, Jones admitted to police that he bumped the victim’s vehicle and after he got out to check for damage, the victim began screaming that his child was in the car. Jones told police he fled the area because he feared for his safety and that the victim chased him for several blocks before police arrived.
A witness told police they saw Jones retrieve a bat from a third party and smash the windows, while another witness told officers both vehicles were speeding, driving the wrong way down one-way streets, and running through red lights while chasing each other, said authorities.
“This was a terrifying sequence of events for the victim and for the victim’s child. It’s tragic that such a young child witnessed this and sustained injuries severe enough to be hospitalized. Minor motor vehicle accidents happen all the time. But to react with such violence, and with no hesitation in placing a child in danger, is intolerable,” Hayden said.
Jones was held on $7,500 bail and is due back in court on Wednesday, Aug. 2.
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