Video Shows Teen Trying To Stop Friends In East Harlem Shopping Cart Toss
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The husband of the woman critically injured by a falling shopping cart in East Harlem last year said he never wants to see the chilling video of the incident.
The revealing surveillance footage was released in the attack that occurred at a Target store last October. The cart was hurled four stories over a parking ledge and landed on top of Marion Hedges, 47, who was shopping for Halloween candy for underprivileged kids with her son.
"I'm quite concerned that my children never see that video, I would never like to see that video," Michael Hedges told CBS 2's Kathryn Brown.
The video, obtained by the New York Post, shows 13-year-old Jiovanni Rosario and 12-year-old Raymond Hernandez plotting their prank while struggling with another friend.
Achilles Baskin can be seen in the video trying to stop the two other teens from tossing the cart. Baskin eventually gives up and takes off.
"We knew about the third boy. We're grateful that he made the effort that he did," Michael Hedges said.
Moments later, Rosario and Hernandez hoist the cart up and shove it off the ledge before running away. Another camera captured the disturbing scene below, where Hedges, who is seen standing with her own 13-year-old son, never sees what hits her.
Hedges falls to the ground after the cart lands on top of her while her son looks up confused before desperately trying to help his mother.
Other shoppers rush over to see what happened and then minutes later, an ambulance pulls up.
Hedges spent months in a medically-induced coma. Michael Hedges said her recovery has been slow and painful.
"She can walk 5 or 6 blocks before she starts feeling nauseous or dizzy," he said. "She has issues with memory...our family is under tremendous strain."
Rosario and Hernandez both pleaded guilty to assault.
Even as Hedges struggled to relearn basic words -- like her own name -- her husband asked a judge not to sentence the boys to jail, instead arguing they deserved compassion though they showed none. Despite her injuries, Michael Hedges said his wife is still dedicated to helping others.
"She is working to the degree possible -- to identify mechanisms and charities that will do good for inner city youth," he said. "When she's -- and if she's -- able to do that, and I will try to help her."
Marion Hedges said she has not spoken to the boys who pushed the cart and called her recovery a work in progress.
Last month, Rosario was sentenced to six to 16 months in a therapy-oriented boarding school.
Earlier this month, a judge sentenced Hernandez to at least six and up to 16 months in a therapeutic foster home.
Michael Hedges has filed a lawsuit on his wife's behalf against the East River Plaza shopping center for not providing adequate security at the location.
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