Shocking Video: Woman Knocked Out, Witnesses Rob & Take Selfie, Instead Of Calling 911
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a breathtaking, horrifying and jaw-dropping moment caught on surveillance video which has Pittsburgh Police investigating and deeply concerned.
"They don't treat animals like that. They wouldn't treat a dog that way," says a Pittsburgh woman whose daughter is seen being beaten and lying unconscious on a sidewalk in the video.
A surveillance camera captured the incident in Beechview more than a month ago. It shows a man walk up to the woman, kick her leg out and punch her in the face, knocking her out cold. The man then walks away from the scene.
The next moments may be more disturbing. One young man walks up to the woman, looks at her motionless body, then pulls out his phone and takes a video. Four more young people do the same.
"It's disgusting. My daughter needs help," the girl's mother said.
A source who provided KDKA's Get Marty with the video said in a text, "They didn't help her. They took what looks like her phone while she's out cold."
One of the young people can be seen in the video clip bending down near the woman and picking something up.
The source went on to say, "Nobody called 911 to help her."
The source also said of the group of young people, "They actually come back. A kid lays beside her and takes a selfie."
A source close to the investigation said the woman ended up lying on the sidewalk until she regained consciousness.
KDKA's Marty Griffin went to Broadway Avenue in Beechview where he found the woman in the video on the streets. She's a drug addict with several arrests, mostly on drug charges.
KDKA is not identifying her or showing her face.
When first approached, she panicked and ran off, then KDKA's Marty Griffin called her mother to the scene. She spotted her daughter several blocks away and approached her.
The woman reached out to KDKA in text messages. She told Get Marty:
"I'll do anything possible to help her, but I'm raising her daughter, and now her daughter has to come first."
"I told her about you and offered to pick her up and take her away from this situation. She said if I didn't someone was going to kill her. That's why we are here… to get her help."
KDKA's Marty Griffin: "Do you want some help?"
Victim: "I would like it. But I don't know what I need help for at this point, I'm not sure at this point."
Griffin: "I can get you into a rehab facility. So if I make the calls will you make sure..."
Victim's Mother: "I will make sure she gets there."
Dr. Neil Capretto, of Gateway Rehab, was shocked by the video.
"She's lying there like somebody just hit a deer, is lying there on the side of the road," said Dr. Capretto. "It's like a sideshow in a circus. This is a human being."
Dr. Capretto agreed to help the young woman. She was admitted into the facility that day.
"They deserve to be helped. This is my oath to help people who are sick. I, as a physician, this is my oath to help people who are sick. She's sick and she needs help," says Dr. Capretto.
KDKA is told she is doing extremely well.
Her mother gave Get Marty this update in a text:
"OMG Marty! I'm just leaving rehab where I just left my daughter. I didn't think I would really see this day in my life. I really don't know how to thank you and Dr. Capretto. The police also were very helpful. I've never really experienced anything like this before. It really does take a village. Forever grateful to you all."
Meantime, Pittsburgh Police are continuing to investigate her attack. They believe they know who is responsible.
If you'd like Marty to help you solve your problem, email him at GetMarty@kdka.com.
