Teenager eating lunch near Chelsea school randomly knocked out by man wielding brick
NEW YORK -- Police are looking for the man who randomly knocked out a high school student with a brick in Chelsea.
The teenager told CBS2's Alice Gainer on Wednesday that he was sitting on some steps eating lunch and has no memory of what happened.
"So this is where the broken orbital is, and the the broken sinus, laceration inside and outside the lip," victim Ethan Maddi said.
The 18-year-old has no recollection of being knocked unconscious.
"It kind of all happened and I woke up in the hospital," Maddi said.
Police say a man captured on video picked up a brick from the ground and then, unprovoked, hit Maddi in the face at around 11:30 a.m. on Monday. He then fled. Someone saw what happened and called 911.
Maddi said he was sitting on steps on 20th Street and 10th Avenue eating lunch on a break from school.
"I was alone. This was the one day I went to lunch alone," he said. "It's normally a peaceful area. Something you wouldn't expect over there."
His mother was at work when police called her. She says when she arrived at the hospital he was awake, but was asking the same question over and over.
"I was really, really afraid, you know, that he had brain damage or something like that, but thank goodness by the next day, you know, his memory was a lot better," Yndhira Maddi said.
Ethan Maddi had some brain bleeding, but his doctors told him his prognosis is good.
"Even though I feel safe walking around Chelsea, I do want to see more police presence," his mother said. "There is so many people with mental health that are not getting the help they need."
She's urging other students to stay in groups. Both said stay alert.