Victim's mother speaks out after woman was run over, beaten in Garden Grove; suspect arrested

Michelle Fisher Image
Thursday, December 19, 2024 9:17PM
Victim's mother speaks out after woman was brutally beaten in OC
A woman's mother spoke out after police said her daughter was intentionally hit by a car, run over and violently beaten. A suspect was arrested in connection with the incident.

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman's mother spoke out after police said her adult daughter was intentionally hit by a car, run over and violently beaten by a man as she lay helpless.

The woman survived and a suspect was arrested on suspicion of committing the brutal attack.

"For somebody to do something so imaginable to my child, it's devastating," said the victim's mother, Kellie, who declined to be publicly identified by her last name.

The injured woman, a 32-year-old Orange County resident, on Wednesday remained hospitalized in critical but stable.

In an interview with ABC7, Sgt. Nick Jensen of the Garden Grove Police Department described the attack.

"After the vehicle goes over the victim, the vehicle gets stuck, in the parking lot, on a planter or something of that nature," the sergeant said. "The suspect then returns and physically assaults the female victim, who is down on the ground."

The attack happened shortly before 3 a.m. on Dec. 10. Police responded to calls for help at the scene on Brookhurst Street, south of Chapman Avenue.

That's where the victim and her male friend had been riding their bikes in a shopping center parking lot, investigators said.

The suspect, Thuan Duong, was detained but later released at the scene. After an extensive investigation, police on Tuesday formally arrested Duong for attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon.

"So many emotions; so many," the victim's mother said. "Anger. Pain. Relief that she is alive, because she very well could have been killed. That was his goal."

Out of respect for her daughter's privacy, Kellie asked ABC7 not to make her name public.

After the attack, Kellie immediately drove from Colorado to Southern California to be with her child. The mother said her daughter's facial injuries left her unrecognizable.

"He broke, fractured several of her facial bones and her eye," she said. "It's really bad. Her pelvis is broken in multiple places."

The victim underwent multiple surgeries and may need more in the future. Her family hopes a GoFundMe campaign will help offset the medical expenses.

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