Police: Quincy man hit Asian victim with car after yelling 'Go back to China'

QUINCY − A 77-year-old man is being held without bail after police say he repeatedly told an Asian man to "Go back to China" before hitting him with his car, throwing him into a ditch.

John Sullivan, of Granite Street in Quincy, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a civil rights violation, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing personal injury.

He was arraigned in Quincy District Court on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty. A judge ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Wednesday, Dec. 7.

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Police say Sullivan was driving in the area of the Washington Street post office Friday morning where he "exchanged words" with pedestrians in the area about the speed at which he drove through the neighborhood, a spokesperson for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office said. He reportedly told one of them, an Asian man, to "Go back to China."

Sullivan then hit the man with his car, pushing him onto the hood of the vehicle, Morrissey's office said, and drove with him on the hood for about 50 yards. He stopped at the intersection of Foster Street, where the man was able to get off the hood. He was then told to "Go back to China" a second time, hit with the car again and pushed into a nearby ditch that was under construction, officials said.

Sullivan left the scene of the crash, Morrissey's office said, but Quincy police were notified by authorities in Braintree that a car with the same license plate associated with the incident had been in a different crash on Quincy Avenue. He was then arrested by Quincy police.

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An ambulance was sent to the scene of the Foster Street crash, but the victim was not taken to the hospital.

Resident Desiree Thien told WCVB, The Patriot Ledger's media partner, that it was her brother who was hit by the car. He was with Thein and her three children when they saw Sullivan speeding down the road, she said. When Thien's brother spoke to Sullivan about his speeding, he then racially harassed and threatened the five of them.

"I felt very angry because I've never had direct racism towards me," Thien said. "He said, 'Go back to China. I'm going to go into the post office and come back out in five minutes. If you're still here, I'm going to kill all of you."

Thien said she and her brother were standing in front of Sullivan's vehicle and collecting his information when he exited the post office and got back into his car.

"He rammed into my brother. My brother rolled onto the hood and he clung onto the hood. He went for about a good 200 yards, then he brakes so my brother fell off," Thien said. "When (my brother) was trying to balance, he hit my brother again, continuing his racial slurs."

Thien recorded video of the aftermath near the construction site and caught Sullivan on camera before police said he fled the scene.

"He needs to know not everyone can be picked on and not everyone will be silenced by intimidation," Thien said.

At the Dec. 7 hearing, a Quincy District Court judge will decide if Sullivan is too dangerous to be released from jail while awaiting trial.

At Monday's city council meeting, at-large councilor Nina Liang said the last week has been "really scary." She referenced a brutal kidnapping and rape of an Asian woman in her 60s who was walking alone near the Wollaston T stop several weeks ago.

"What brings me solace is that we all come together as a community for one another," she said.

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Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy man hit Asian victim with car after yelling 'Go Back to China'