GoFundMe Account Established For Fruit Vendor Who Was Viciously Attacked
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- A GoFundMe account has been established for a fruit vendor who was viciously attacked in Downtown Los Angeles Sunday morning.
The attack was so severe, doctors told the man's family it will take him about six months to recover.
Pedro Daniel Reyes' stepson set up the account.
He wrote, "Two cars filled with men rushed him and and other vendors and demanded their money. My stepfather gave them the money but they still brutally beat him."
The attack occurred at the corner of San Pedro and 31st in South LA at 5 a.m.
The man's stepson says his stepfather is a hardworking man from Oaxaca, Mexico who has no health insurance.
"He works seven days a week -- as a roofer Monday-Saturday and a fruit vendor on Sundays," said the stepson, who asked us not to reveal his name.
Sundays were routinely the days Reyes' sold peanuts and fruit to help makes ends meet. "That's his life. He doesn't have one day of rest," said the stepson.
He showed KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen video of his stepfather working as a roofer.
You don't need to speak Spanish to understand pain and agony that mark Pedro Reyes' face - after a violent mugging.
"They basically said his entire face was fractured," said the stepson, "All over his face. His eyes are completely, one of them is completely shut and super swollen. The other one he could kind of open it. He did have three of his teeth knocked out."
Reyes was setting up his peanut cart when a group of four men and a woman rushed at him and two other street vendors.
He immediately threw whatever cash he had at the muggers and ran. They decided to beat him anyway.
"Makes no sense. If they wanted the money. They got the money. Why did they have to go and beat him almost senseless?," the stepson said.
Reyes was unconscious when he arrived at California Hospital.
And he no longer has his big voice -- that his family says was full of energy.
"For somebody so warmhearted and charismatic to be going through this is ...it's tragic," said his stepson.
Officials said the other two vendors who were attacked did not suffer serious injuries.
For a link to the GoFundMe account, click here.