Since when was a punch thrown in self-defense considered lethal intent?
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A man is dead and a teen locked up after road rage incident
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press WriterSeptember 13, 2005, 5:34 PM EDT
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – Enraged after being cut off by a teen driver, authorities say a man then followed the high school athlete home and tried to run the youth down with his car. Instead, the 53-year-old was punched into unconsciousness and died Tuesday.
The teen was jailed, charged with aggravated assault.
Jeffrey Zucker, a lawyer for the 17-year-old, said it was a case of self-defense.
The charges against the boy, whose name was not released because of his age, were filed before James D. Munter died late Tuesday morning. The charges could be upgraded, but Bill Shralow, a spokesman for the Camden County prosecutor’s office, said that decision would not be made Tuesday.
The youth cut off Munter, of Lindenwold, on a road in Laurel Springs on Monday evening, authorities said.
Zucker said the teen was on his way home from football practice around 5:30 p.m. when he inadvertently cut off the other driver.
Authorities said Munter followed the teen three miles to the student’s home in Lindenwold, screaming through his window all the way. The teen used a cell phone to call his father, who told him to drive home, officials said.
When the teen arrived home, Zucker said, he ran across the street to his home from his still-idling truck, but he was not fast enough. With the teen’s father watching, Munter drove into the youth, authorities said.
The teen, who Zucker said is about 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, rolled off the hood of Munter’s 1999 Mercury Sable, landed on his feet, walked to the driver’s side of the car and punched Munter twice in the head.
Munter’s son-in-law, Mark Serota, who described the man as “nice, fun-loving, goodhearted,” said he lost consciousness instantly and never regained it.
Serota said police had asked the family not to talk about the details of the incident, including whether it seemed in character for Munter to follow or confront someone he considered to be a rude driver.
The teen was ordered to remain in the Camden County Youth Detention Center, at least until a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Zucker said he hoped his client would be released to his parents then.
“It’s a true tragedy because it certainly escalated into something that shouldn’t have happened,” Zucker said. “He was almost killed.”
Zucker said three officials at the school where his client was a junior wrote letters supporting him, praising him as a good student and good citizen.
Gerri Carroll, the schools superintendent in Lindenwold, said extra help was available Tuesday for high school students who needed support after hearing about the incident.
The boy, she said, is an “excellent student, which is why this is very uncharacteristic.”