Quincy driver charged with yelling 'Go back to China,' hitting man with car deemed dangerous
QUINCY – A judge found 77-year-old John Sullivan to be dangerous, but allowed him released on bail after he allegedly yelled at an Asian man to "Go back to China" and hit him with his car multiple times in Quincy.
Sullivan's dangerousness hearing lasted about an hour on Thursday in Quincy District Court.
Police say the incident started last Friday when George Ngo saw Sullivan speeding down Washington Street. The two exchanged words and prosecutors say that's when Sullivan told Ngo to "Go back to China" and hit him with his car.
After Sullivan allegedly hit Ngo a second time, the driver suddenly stopped and Ngo was thrown off the vehicle and into a ditch.
Thursday in court, the officer who responded to the incident testified and the judge heard a 911 call from Ngo's sister right after he was hit by the car.
"He's an old man he said he's a cop and I have his plate number," Ngo's sister said in the call. "He told me to go back to China and he said was going to kill me and my family."
Cell phone video was also presented in court that allegedly shows a car hitting Ngo and knocking him into the construction ditch.
Sullivan's defense attorney argued that in the cell phone video you can't hear anyone yelling the phrase at Ngo. He also said police interviewed the person who took the video, and they did not mention Sullivan yelling that phrase.
"There's absolutely no evidence this is a hate crime. There's no way this matter is what it was originally reported to. The facts do not substantiate that this was a hate crime in any form," defense attorney Patrick Donovan said.
Prosecutors had asked the judge for Sullivan to be held without bail. Instead, the judge found Sullivan to be dangerous but allowed him to be released to home confinement.
Sullivan was ordered to wear a GPS monitor and can only leave home for court or medical appointments. The 77-year-old has health issues and is scheduled to undergo back surgery on Monday.
Sullivan is due back in court on February 10.