Massachusetts man sentenced to two years for assaulting woman for not saying hello

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BOSTON – A man who attacked a woman and tried to run her over with his car after she did not respond to his “good morning” greeting has been sentenced to two years in prison, Suffolk County prosecutors announced.

The July 13 incident took place outside the victim’s home on Balsam Street in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. The woman, who was watering her plants in her garden around 9 a.m., told police that the man, later identified as Atkinson, became enraged when she did not answer him. He reportedly shouted, “When people say good morning to you, say hello, you crazy b—,” before getting into a black Mercedes.

The woman began recording him on her cell phone, prompting Atkinson to exit the vehicle and attack her, prosecutors said. He repeatedly punched her in the face, threw her against a fence and only stopped when she bit him in an attempt to defend herself. Atkinson then returned to his car and drove towards the victim, narrowly missing her, before fleeing the scene.

When police arrived, the victim was bleeding from a broken nose and had visible bruises on her head and face. Detectives used video footage and a GPS monitor Atkinson was wearing from a previous arrest to identify and locate him. A few days later he was arrested.

“For this victim, a pleasant summer morning turned into a violent and brutal ordeal for the most inexplicable of reasons,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. He praised the victim’s courage, noting that her quick thinking to record the attack provided important evidence in the case.