Son of road rage victim won't stop until justice is served
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TACOMA, Wash. -- A Spanaway man is on a mission for justice after his father was brutally beaten in a Monday night road rage attack.
Scott Bradford underwent his first of possibly several surgeries Friday, but he's in good spirits considering the week he had.
On Monday, he and another driver pulled over to the side of the road on 175th Street in Spanaway. Words were exchanged over a driving dispute, and that's when witnesses say the man punched and kicked Scott multiple times in the face.
Inside his hospital room at Tacoma General, Scott is surrounded by loved ones. His broken cheek bones, broken nose and broken jaw leave him unable to speak, but he's still trying to help police find his attacker by scribbling clues on a clipboard.
While Scott recovers, his son Daniel is hitting the pavement.
"Every time I see him I break down," Daniel said.
Back at the scene of the attack, Daniel goes door to door with a pen and a notebook, hoping to track down the man who caused his family so much pain.
"i'm trying to get enough stuff to where I can give it to police and they have something to go on," he said. "If I do find him before you guys, I'm bringing him in the right way."
Daniel is hoping a business in the area had surveillance cameras rolling during the attack. Nothing has turned up so far, but Daniel isn't even close to quitting.
"Everyday until he's found, I'm going to be out here," he said.
Police say the attacker is a slender black man in his 20s who stands roughly 5'8" tall. He was wearing a green and brown fleece coat at the time of the attack. Witnesses say he was driving a dark green or grey sedan, possibly a Chevrolet or Ford.
Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. The good Samaritan who helped after the beating is also adding $500 to the reward.
Scott Bradford underwent his first of possibly several surgeries Friday, but he's in good spirits considering the week he had.
On Monday, he and another driver pulled over to the side of the road on 175th Street in Spanaway. Words were exchanged over a driving dispute, and that's when witnesses say the man punched and kicked Scott multiple times in the face.
Inside his hospital room at Tacoma General, Scott is surrounded by loved ones. His broken cheek bones, broken nose and broken jaw leave him unable to speak, but he's still trying to help police find his attacker by scribbling clues on a clipboard.
While Scott recovers, his son Daniel is hitting the pavement.
"Every time I see him I break down," Daniel said.
Back at the scene of the attack, Daniel goes door to door with a pen and a notebook, hoping to track down the man who caused his family so much pain.
"i'm trying to get enough stuff to where I can give it to police and they have something to go on," he said. "If I do find him before you guys, I'm bringing him in the right way."
Daniel is hoping a business in the area had surveillance cameras rolling during the attack. Nothing has turned up so far, but Daniel isn't even close to quitting.
"Everyday until he's found, I'm going to be out here," he said.
Police say the attacker is a slender black man in his 20s who stands roughly 5'8" tall. He was wearing a green and brown fleece coat at the time of the attack. Witnesses say he was driving a dark green or grey sedan, possibly a Chevrolet or Ford.
Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. The good Samaritan who helped after the beating is also adding $500 to the reward.
One of two things happened. Either Scott wrote a check he couldn't cash or he woefully misread the situation. I'm sure he won't make either mistake again. Too bad someone like me didn't witness, as I would've had no problem taking on the 5'8" lil man and handing him to authorities with a few of his own injuries. Yes, I'm that guy that will stop to 'discuss things' if need be, and hopefully I don't get shot doing so. Such is life. Hope they catch the 'lil punk
So sad, I wish a speedy recovery for him AND his family.
"Police say the attacker is a slender black man in his 20s who stands roughly 5'8" tall. He was wearing a green and brown fleece coat at the time of the attack."
 How many people wear a coat like that? Someone knows who this is.
Stay on top of it Daniel, it will be old news soon and the police and most others will forget about this. I hope this animal who did this to your father is given justice, however in the world we live in today it rarely happens.
Would be great if people stopped using this story for their personal platforms and offered a kind word to the family. Shows your true colors. You are complaining about black people but couldnt' be bothered to feel sick to your stomache to see a man beaten so badly, you offer a kind word. Wow!
@Pollywannacracker I ironically say I hate racism and it knows no bounds. All that matters here is the suspect's capture and recovery of the victim...aside from understanding not to pull over and "resolve" non-colision traffic disputes. NEVER PULL OVER FOR ANY REASON (unless you see a cop's lights). You don't know what people are capable of.
@KennyGambler I agree, I hope this thug is capture quickly. Hopefully his friends will give him up or better yet, perhaps another banger will take him out.
I'm very careful as a lady. I would stop to help someone eldery. I'm even careful of Law Enforcement given the two cops in Tacoma years ago who made a habit of pulling over women to try and make a date.
He stopped to "apologize". Â Call me skeptical.....
@justthefacts he was worried about him being followede home... he is my dad and that is him
@justthefacts yeah, there's that situation too. But some folks might not have the best judgement or very street wise. I don't pull over for anyone unless it is a patrol officer or a collision. So it isn't completely compatible with common sense... I don't like potential physical altercations as I know you can't talk your way out of everything, best to just avoid.
@justthefacts Be skeptical, that's your right..  if you knew Scott, though, you'd understand that apologizing is the only reason he would've stopped.
@Jim G @justthefacts Fair enough, but I read one report where Bradford said, "What's up?".  That doesn't sound like apologizing, but more like, "so you want a piece of me?"  Add on top of that you are in Spanaway, not exactly the friendliest area in the world and the LAST place you want to "apologize" to someone tailgating you.  Unless he has been in a weather station in Antarctica, he has to know that.  Is this a case of a naive person receiving an unprovoked attack, or losing a fight?  He is lucky he wasn't shot.  If you get out of your car, a legally armed person might shoot you and say, "he got out of the car, made a furtive movement, and I shot him in self defense."
@justthefacts @Jim G that was king 5 and they got that whole story almost all wrong... watch the video above and the witness says otherwise.... the attacker said what up
@justthefacts @Jim G I hear ya. I say just keep driving. What does getting out and appologizing do even if you are in the wrong. It's what gamblers and investors would call a "high risk, low reward situation"--exactly the spots to avoid in life.
No, I don't blame the victim here and wish this dirtbag to spend some time in the can for this assault. So he's also at fault. If you're sane, you treat driving like a video game: drive around obstacles and get to your destination.
Lesson to be learned here is to never pull over in a potential road rage conflict, esp. If you are unarmed and incapable of defending yourself. This reminds me of the road rage incident with the UW students last week; the drivers girlfriend defended getting out of the car and following the suspect by foot. In this spot, She said he followed back by 20 feet not having any idea how easy it is to close the gap and was assaulted (i.e. doesn't understand combat/fighting). She's lucky the guy only used pepper spray and didn't beat, stab or shoot him.
Don't get out of the car, don't drive home, let the person pass you or drive down a side street to see if he is following and drive toward a police station if so. If you have a weapon, make sure you are psychologically prepared to use it and possibly kill someone in self-defense. Life ain't pretty sometimes.
I wish the best for recovery and capture of this violent dirtbag.
Bulldoggie - Yes Scott was charged with Vehicular Homicide several years ago and did his time in jail.  Someone did lose their life and Scott paid the price AND has to live with this everyday in his heart and soul.  Do you ever stop and think that he doesn't live with this everyday of his life because he does AND just like you, there are other people that have been affected by this tragedy with Scott,  Family,  just like your tragedy, friends, just like your tragedy, innocent people, just like your tragedy.  It still doesn't mean that there are not others involved and are affected by this whole thing let alone your unkind words that affect the others involved with this.  My son is Daniel Bradford, Scott's son and HE is suffering just like you are with your tragedy.  HE has to deal with this everyday, just like you do with your tragedy.  DANIEL is a human being with feelings, just like you have!  So if you feel the need to make comments about Scott Bradford, maybe YOU should consider the innocent people that were affected by the tragedy that YOU ave to deal with and understand that there are innocent people that are affected by this tragedy!  Not only that but this person that did this needs to be caught as he is a dangerous person and could do this to anybody else.  Would you feel sorry for an innocent person that you knew nothing about or would you still feel so much anger towards the whole situation.  Whether it was Scott Bradford or Joe Blow down the street that was the victim of road rage it really doesn't matter at this point...the whole point is this person could hurt somebody with the violence that he has shown to 2 complete strangers, Scott was not and is not a violent person, it was a bad choice that caused somebody to lose their life back then, it does not mean he is a bad person.  This situation has nothing to do with race, karma or anything else.  The whole thing is about one person with enough rage to do this much hurt to not just one but two innocent people and this person needs to be taken off the streets.  What he did in this situation is unacceptable and he is a true definition of a bad person who should not be able to walk free on the streets to hurt another person because he probably will do it again, Scott has never drank and drove since the incident  Two different stories, two different situations.  We feel bad for your lose, all of us involved felt it one way to another but this man will hurt more innocent people who did this, way to much anger in the world these days!
@bulldoggie...did you know that your friend that Scott accidently hit and killed was high on meth while on his motorcycle and was speeding excessively? Did you also know that the mother of the Victim came to visit scott in jail several times, forgave him and admitted her son was also in the wrong...Sounds like your friend wasn't so perfect either. No one is perfect and for you to say that Scott deserved this is pure evil. You must really be hurting inside to wish such hate upon someone.
@Bereal zach was high on cocaine and going about 90 mph 3 miles prior to the wreck, dad was not drunk, just over legal limit... the guy who died even got a speeding ticket day he died. RIP zach. and you are correct bereal
@Dan Bradford @Bereal Way to blame the victim
Dan, if you find this punk, "accidentally" beat the holy hell out of him before you call the police. Someone did this to MY dad, the cops would be called to scrape up the remains.
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The story clearely states that the only reason he got out of the car and said what's up is because the guy had been tailgating him. You should not take it so personal what the mans son is saying to you. You have to understand that seeing someone you love almost dead is extremely painful and I'm sure he is just talking out of anger. None of us know the facts because none of us were there so all we can base our decisions on is what is being reported. I don't care who teh victim or the agressor is but what I do know is that beating someone almost to death regardless of what happened is not right and adding racist slurs on top of that makes it somewhat of a hate crime.
Spanaway.
@bobalouie Spanaway was nice, once upon a time. Unfortuantely, many areas across the country have declined for one reason or another.
Before you all feel to bad for him, look up his record and see what he has done in the past. Sounds like Karma caught up to him. 2006 he killed a good friend of mine. And that isn't the only indecent in his past.
The motorist who made an illegal U-turn that killed a motorcyclist on State Route 410 on Saturday was legally drunk, according to court records.Â
Scott Edwin Bradford, 39, of the Tacoma suburb of Puyallup had a blood-
alcohol level of 0.18, more than double the 0.08 threshold for drunken driving, according to an affidavit filed by the Washington State Patrol.Â
Bradford's blood alcohol was measured shortly after he caused an accident at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday when he tried to make an illegal U-turn on SR 410, about 27 miles west of Naches.Â
The maneuver claimed the life of 30-year-old Zacharey Lee Cox of Bellevue, Wash., who crashed his Ducati street bike into Bradford's car near the centerline. Cox was pronounced dead at the scene.Â
Bradford was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide and booked into the Yakima County jail. Bail was set at $100,000 pending review by prosecutors.Â
Yakima Herald
@bulldoggie your buddy was also high on cocaine flying about 90 mph 3 miles prior to the uturn my dad made and zach got a speedin ticket that day.. even zachs mom forgave hime and visited him regularly in jail.
@Dan Bradford @bulldoggie Your dad was drunk and killed someone, stop blaming the victim.
@bulldoggieBulldoggie - Yes Scott was charged with Vehicular Homicide several years ago and did his time in jail.  Someone did lose their life and Scott paid the price AND has to live with this everyday in his heart and soul.  Do you ever stop and think that he doesn't live with this everyday of his life because he does AND just like you, there are other people that have been affected by this tragedy with Scott,  Family,  just like your tragedy, friends, just like your tragedy, innocent people, just like your tragedy.  It still doesn't mean that there are not others involved and are affected by this whole thing let alone your unkind words that affect the others involved with this.  My son is Daniel Bradford, Scott's son and HE is suffering just like you are with your tragedy.  HE has to deal with this everyday, just like you do with your tragedy.  DANIEL is a human being with feelings, just like you have!  So if you feel the need to make comments about Scott Bradford, maybe YOU should consider the innocent people that were affected by the tragedy that YOU ave to deal with and understand that there are innocent people that are affected by this tragedy!  Not only that but this person that did this needs to be caught as he is a dangerous person and could do this to anybody else.  Would you feel sorry for an innocent person that you knew nothing about or would you still feel so much anger towards the whole situation.  Whether it was Scott Bradford or Joe Blow down the street that was the victim of road rage it really doesn't matter at this point...the whole point is this person could hurt somebody with the violence that he has shown to 2 complete strangers, Scott was not and is not a violent person, it was a bad choice that caused somebody to lose their life back then, it does not mean he is a bad person.  This situation has nothing to do with race, karma or anything else.  The whole thing is about one person with enough rage to do this much hurt to not just one but two innocent people and this person needs to be taken off the streets.  What he did in this situation is unacceptable and he is a true definition of a bad person who should not be able to walk free on the streets to hurt another person because he probably will do it again, Scott has never drank and drove since the incident  Two different stories, two different situations.  We feel bad for your lose, all of us involved felt it one way to another but this man will hurt more innocent people who did this, way to much anger in the world these days!  I feel sad for you that you still carry this much anger over the years over a tragedy that was an accident on Scott's part yet there is a son here who is crying out and you just felt the need to hurt him as well, MY SON!!!
@lhaavik @bulldoggie they both made poor decisions but has nothing to do with this
@lhaavik @bulldoggie I'm sorry for the stress your family is going through. I grew up in Tacoma, my mom is still there and I worry about her due to the rise in crime. Was a nice place when I was a kid. I hope that thug is caught and Mr. Bradford recovers.
The man in the picture is not 39. The man you are talking about is his son and I don't care about what happened in the past that does not make this ok.
@tkyed That story was from 2006.Â
@tkyed no i am the son and thanks for the support!! some peole just dont know all the facts. he chose prison over fightin the trial
Dan, don't let low-life scums and their ignorant comments get to you. You have a lot of people supporting you!
The savage who did this has some form of rage disorder. Hopefully he is caught and thrown in a cage before he kills someone.
@StringerJoe He probably already has a record, who knows what crimes he has already committed.
Funny how the media isnt looking at this as a hate crime... But seeing how the victim is white, I guess I understand. I hope they find this guy....
@Busyhands Do you really care about what happened to Mr. Bradford or are you just using this tragedy as a platform for your agenda? If it can be proven, the attack was motivated due to race, then yes, he'll likely be charged. He is a violent freak who needs to be put away. I'm guessing he already has a record.
If the situation was reversed and it was a white man who beat up a black man and made several racist slurs this would be major news probably even on CNN BUT because it was a white man getting beat up by a black man making racist comments it's not a big deal?? The double standard now a days is sickening!!
@tkyed your an idiot.... it made the news because I sent in story and pics and begged for help. get a life dude... geez
@Busyhands Why? Do you think people of color don't attack or rob or commit other crimes against other people of color?Â
@Busyhands  Didn't you know Blacks cannot be racist. There are not enough of them. That is but one of the lefty rationalization and enabling mindset for this type of behavior. Hence the reason this occurred.
@Ken Willy @Busyhands The reason this occured is because this guy is a degenerate lacking boundaries, compassion, and decency for starters. So because the 'left' says 'blacks' can't be racist that means it is true? Racism is thinking one race is superiod to another.
This thug is disgusting. Did he attack this Mr. Bradford because he was white? Not sure. I am sure he used racial slurs and probably just plain foul language to bully and intimidate Mr. Bradford. He likely has an entire arsenl of ugly language to unleash tailore to each victim (e.g. if someone Asian, he'll change MO, for women other slurs).
@PollywannacrackerObviously you don't do sarcasm very well but it is a rationalization to excuse this type of behavior. That is why many blacks act as they do. Sarcasm, they have a right to act as they do after the way they have been treated, enabling bad behavior. Boundaries, that and no responsibility is a hall mark of liberalism thus further enabling this type of behavior not only with blacks but many other groups of people. It's all whitey's fault. You say he has an arsenal of language which I'm sure he does, because he is a racist, sexist, angry, hateful piece of garbage.
@Pollywannacracker @Ken Willy @Busyhands no he did not, dad tapped brakes cuz attacker was tailgating then got really aggresive an dad got worried and wanted to reason with him because was following him home
@Busyhands Did the attacker make remarks about this driver based on his race before he started attacking?
actually Just_Mike the attacker did. He called both the victim and the Vietnam Vet numerous racist names regarding their white skin.
I am sick of Black people always saying they are the victims of racist remarks when they love to dish out equally abusive racist remarks towards white people. Two wrongs do not make a right. Â
@lisamba09Â I grew up in Tacoma, know the surrounding communities quite well. For the most part I have no complaints. My introduction to racism was as a 5 year old. A teenage boy on the block cursed my siblings and I, used racial slurs and threw rocks at us. My mom told us to walk on the other side of the street since he yelled at us any time we walked by his house.
We had a dog we loved. We had to have him euthanized because 'someone' mutilated his legs. Other neighbors told us it was that teenage boy. He eventually ended up in jail because he was not a decent person.
The cool thing about my mom, she never once mentioned his race despite the ugly things he did to us. In fact, rarely did my mom mention race in our home and when she did, it was only to recognize racial or ethnic origins in a positive manner.
This guy will end up just like that mean teenage boy from long ago who injured our dog, in jail.
Racism abounds and crosses all races and ethnicities and yes anyone who experiences should complain.
@lisamba09 Okay, you should probably add a qualifier or two to that second paragraph, so that it doesn't sound like you're saying that all black people are racist. Because that would be pretty much a race-based generalization itself.
@Just_Mike KOMO yesterday "The guy in the Taurus jumps out and starts throwing slanders, racial slurs," said Howard, who added Scott did not want to fight. "(Scott) got his hands up, said, 'I'm sorry. Didn't see you. There's no reason to get violent."' Â
Funny how they left it out today.
@Just_Mike Yes.Â