Left: John Kreitner (Dearborn Police Department). Right: Judo Whitaker (WXYZ/YouTube). The Kroger parking lot in Dearborn, Mich., where John Kreitner allegedly assaulted 84-year-old Judo Whittaker (WXYZ/YouTube).
An 85-year-old man in Michigan was attacked and hospitalized last week in a “completely unacceptable” incident of road rage at a Kroger parking lot for allegedly pulling out too slowly, according to police and the victim.
“He pulls up beside me, honking his horn like a madman and hurling insults,” Judo Whittaker recounted to the local ABC station WXYZ from his hospital room regarding the Fourth of July confrontation at a Kroger in Dearborn. “He shouted insults, made obscene gestures, and all that nonsense,” the elderly man said about the alleged attacker, 55-year-old John Kreitner from Westland.
“He comes running, he gets to my car real quick,” Whittaker said. “He gets deep into my face as close as possible and I told him, ‘Man, get your face out of my face.'”
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Kreitner was allegedly “only an inch away” from Whittaker when he began lunging at him and prompted a tussle, with Whittaker saying he fell to the ground and later needed a hip replacement.
Whittaker allegedly pulled out in front of Kreitner while leaving the Kroger parking lot, which sparked the attack, according to cops.
“I’m moaning and groaning,” Whittaker recalled. “I really hit hard.”
Dearborn Police said in a press release that officers responded to the area of Michigan Avenue near Nowlin Street, within the vicinity of the Kroger parking lot, after receiving reports about the road rage incident. Whittaker was transported to a nearby hospital for serious injuries.
Witness reports and surveillance footage from neighboring businesses helped lead police investigators to identify and arrest Kreitner on July 5.
“Such violence is completely unacceptable in our city and we will use all resources to pursue justice for victims and their families,” wrote DPD Chief Issa Shahin. “We again thank witnesses who aided our investigation and the local business for the use of their surveillance footage that helped us identify and arrest the suspect.”
Kreitner was arraigned at the 19th District Court on Monday on charges of aggravated assault. He was ordered held on a $20,000 cash bond.
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