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LINCOLNTON, NC – A Gaston County toddler left bloody and bruised. Now, the 2-year-old’s father wants to press charges against the man he says threw a water bottle at his son.
“He hasn’t rested well the past few days. He wakes up crying in the middle of the night. I know he’s hurting,” said Mike Hudson, a Lincolnton resident.
Hudson’s son, Sam, suffered a one-inch cut across his nose and bruising on his cheeks. It happened when a driver drove past the family taking their usual walk around the neighborhood after dinner Tuesday.
“The driver started coming at us slower and I was holding Sam’s hand, told and him to sit still until the car passed us. He speeds up and as he got closer, he threw a water bottle out the window. It bounced off the road and up to his face,” said Hudson.
That’s when the driver in a white, older model Chevrolet Malibu sped off Coral Drive in Lincolnton before the family could get his license plate number.
Lincoln County Sheriff David Carpenter says it appears that the driver who threw the bottle was not just littering and threw the bottle at the family intentionally. Carpenter says the bottle was half-full, and the driver may not have realized how much damage he could do.
“He was probably driving 35 miles an hour, and you think about the speed of the car that ricocheted off the ground. It hit pretty hard, a big thump when it hit him,” said Hudson.
Investigators are dusting the water bottle for fingerprints. The Hudsons hope the police find the guy so they can press charges.
“Maybe we can rest better at night, knowing we got justice for Sam,” said Hudson.
The Hudsons say the driver was a white male in his early 20’s with dark hair.
If you know anything that can help investigators, call Lincoln County Crime Stoppers at 704-736-8909.
