Charges Dropped After Foul Lands Ambridge Teen In Hospital
AMBRIDGE (KDKA) -- A foul during a pick-up basketball game in Ambridge landed a teenager in the hospital for four days.
Now, criminal charges in the case have been dismissed and the boy, his family, and the former suspect are all speaking out.
Malik Walker, who plays for Ambridge, was approaching the basket for a layup at the basketball court on 11th Street when his face was slammed into the court on March 20.
"All I remember is I was dribbling and I went to the hoop and then I blacked out," he said.
Police charged 28-year-old Dajuan Waddell with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, but on Tuesday, the charges were dropped.
"I'm sorry that it happened," he said. "He's a great player and I wish he has a full recovery."
"I don't know how often you see injuries in basketball, but I've never seen one like this," Keyona Norman, Malik's mother, said.
For Malik's parents, the case is far from over.
"My son had six bones broken in his face, his hand's fractured and he had a concussion and bleeding on his brain," Norman said.
Myron Walker, Malik's father, says it was a cheap shot. He was a basketball star at Robert Morris and played professionally overseas.
"I'm very frustrated because, you know, you just want justice to be served," he said.
Waddell's lawyer says witnesses testified there was no apparent intent to injure.
"Pending further investigation, this case is over," the attorney said.
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